Milwaukee, WI – Milwaukee Police Officer Charles Irvine Jr. was killed in the line of duty on Thursday evening, after his patrol vehicle rolled over during a high-speed pursuit.

“It is with great sadness that I stand before you today as the Chief of the Milwaukee Police Department and announce the death of one of our own, 23-year-old Police Officer Charles Irvine Junior,” Chief Alfonso Morales said during a press conference.

The crash occurred at approximately 5 p.m., as Officer Irvine and his 36-year-old partner were pursuing a reckless driver near North 76th Street and West Silver Spring Drive, Chief Morales explained.

One witness said that she was next to the patrol vehicle just before the officers activated the car’s lights and sirens, TMJ reported.

The vehicle they were trying to pull over took off at speeds of at least 50 miles per hour and began weaving through traffic, she said.

Another witness explained the officers’ vehicle “hit the wall and tumbled the rest of the way” down an embankment, TMJ reported.

One of the officers was ejected, and ended up underneath the overturned, mangled patrol vehicle, the witness said.

“At this time, it appears the squad was the only vehicle involved in the crash,” Chief Morales said during the press conference.

Officer Irvine and his partner were rushed to a local hospital with serious injuries.

“Officer Irvine died as a result of the injuries, despite lifesaving efforts,” the police chief said.

His unnamed 36-year-old partner, a four-year veteran of the force, was listed in stable condition, Chief Morales confirmed.

On Thursday night, dispatchers radioed for all available units to help escort the fallen officer’s body from the hospital to the medical examiner’s office, WITI reported.

The unnamed driver of the suspect vehicle was later arrested using Officer Irvine’s handcuffs, a Milwaukee Police Department source told Blue Lives Matter.

Officer Irvine joined the department as a police aide at the age of 19, and remained in that capacity until he was hired as a sworn officer at the age of 21, Milwaukee Police said in a Twitter post.

He served as an officer for nearly two years.

“Officer Irvine gave his life for the people of this community,” Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said during the press conference. “He served this community because he wanted it to be a better community. I ask that everyone in this area remember him and his family in their prayers.”

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Milwaukee Police Officer Charles Irvine Jr., both blood and blue. Thank you for your service.

Officer Irvine, your life mattered.