Police officer's son killed in NYPD van crash

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — A New York Police Department officer whose father is a longtime cop in Carmel was killed and eight others injured in a van crash Sunday morning in the Bronx, the NYPD said.

The dead officer was identified as Michael Williams, 25, of the Bronx, a former part-time deputy sheriff with the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office.

"He went through our academy ... a very bright young man," Sheriff Butch Anderson said. "His father is a police officer in Carmel. He comes from a great family and it's a terrible tragedy. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends."

Carmel Police Chief Michael Cazzari described the loss of Michael Williams as "tragic."

He said the department is standing by and supporting the man's father, also named Michael Williams, a police officer who's been part of the department for about 30 years.

"The entire department is hurting from this loss," Cazzari told The Journal News.

The chief declined to answer further questions, calling the death a "personal, family thing."

Williams was an only child, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

"Our hearts go out especially to the Williams family, who lost their child," he said.

Dutchess County Legislature Chairman Rob Rolison, a retired officer with the Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department, said his own son, Chris, went through the sheriff's academy with Williams.

Williams' "father and family sat right behind us" at the academy graduation, Rob Rolison said. "We were so excited to see our sons" graduate.

Chris Rolison, now full-time with the Dutchess sheriff's, said Williams was a "great person and friend — someone you wanted in the academy with you.

"A guy like Mike was a positive reinforcement to get through the tough times" during the academy, Chris Rolison said. "It's an absolute tragedy. Mike and I were certainly similar in the fact that our fathers are police officers. We had that connection."

Williams had been an NYPD officer for about eight months, authorities said.

The accident happened around 5 a.m. ET Sunday. The nine officers were in a police van heading to their work assignment when it struck a barrier on the Bruckner Expressway near Bryant Avenue in the Bronx, police said. The NYPD van was the only vehicle involved in the crash.

Williams was ejected and taken to Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx, where he was pronounced dead. The other eight officers in the van were taken to Bronx-area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

The accident is under investigation by the NYPD Collision Investigation Squad.

"Our hearts are heavy this morning after a tragic police van accident," said NYPD Chief of Department Philip Banks III via Twitter. "We pray for the PO we lost, and for a quick recovery of those injured."

Contributing: Greg Shillinglaw, The (Westchester County, N.Y.) Journal News, and The Associated Press