An on-duty officer with the Prince George's County Police Department was killed Saturday morning in a traffic accident, police said.
Officer Brennan Rabain, 26, had been off-duty before he turned on his lights and sirens and attempted to make a traffic stop at 3:30 a.m. in the 9500 block of Greenbelt Road in Lanham, police said.
For reasons that police said are still unknown, his cruiser left the roadway and struck a wooden fence. A woman who was in the car with the officer was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was treated for minor physical injuries and emotional distress.
The woman's name will not be released, according to a posting on the police department's blog. The department said she has been sedated since the time of the accident, and that investigators have not been able to interview her about the circumstances of the crash. Investigators also are trying to learn more about the vehicle that Rabain was attempting to stop.
Police Chief Mark Magaw responded to the scene, as did other officers, saluting as Rabain's body was taken away by ambulance, the department reported on Twitter.
"He was a young officer. Loved this department, loved this County," Police Chief Mark Magaw said on the blog post.. "He was a fine officer."
Magaw has authorized officers to wear bands to publicly mourn Rabain's death. Rabain is survived by a 3-year-old daughter, according to the department.
The accident caused Greenbelt road to be closed between Good Luck Road and Goddard Drive, the department said. The State Highway Administration reported the road closed about four hours before reopening around 11 a.m.
Authorities said that Rabain was assigned to the county's Clinton station and has been with the department less than two years.
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