KNIGHTSTOWN, Ind. – A hit-and-run driver killed an off-duty police officer who was on a late-night bicycle ride on a rural central Indiana highway, authorities said.
Greenfield Officer William Phillips was a member of the department's bike patrol and was on an off-duty exercise ride with two fellow officers when he was hit about 12:30 a.m. Thursday along U.S. 40 outside nearby Knightstown, police said.
The officers were wearing helmets and reflective clothing and had flashing lights on the back of their bikes when he was hit from behind, Greenfield Deputy Police Chief Derek Towle said. The other officers weren't hurt from the crash on an unlit stretch of the four-lane highway about 25 miles east of Indianapolis.
"Our guys ride at night, our bike team does, so they know what type of safety things they need to have on their bikes at the time to ride at night," Towle told WISH-TV. "These guys had it on."
Towle said police were looking for a Toyota with a front headlight assembly missing, but didn't immediately know the vehicle's model or color.
Phillips, 32, is survived by his wife Lesley and two sons, 5-year-old Gavin and 2-year-old Bryson, Towle said.
The driver needed to take responsibility for the crash, and police would determine whether any laws were broken leading up to the crash, Towle said.
"At least stop and at least provide assistance," Towle told WTHR-TV. "He didn't even do that. That's the part that really hurts, is that they didn't even stop."
