California police officer Lauren Craven was killed in a fatal accident in San Diego

A heroic California police officer was killed while rushing to help victims of a fatal highway crash late Monday night.

La Mesa Police Officer Lauren Craven was involved in a fatal rollover crash on Interstate 8 northeast of San Diego just before 10:30 p.m., officials said.

The 25-year-old police officer on duty was returning from San Diego Central Prison when she discovered a multi-vehicle crash in the middle of the busy highway, five miles west of La Mesa.

She reported the accident over the radio before getting out and walking toward the overturned car.

Craven was struck by another vehicle, setting off a chain reaction, and crashing into the vehicles involved in the initial accident.

The driver of the overturned vehicle in the first crash has been identified as 19-year-old Devonte Morris. NBC7 San Diego reported.

Other victims of the accident were transported to local hospitals.

The cause of the initial accident is being investigated by the California Highway Patrol.

The young police officer, who celebrated her birthday on October 7, has been remembered for her final act of compassion.

“Officer Craven’s actions in her final moments exemplify her unwavering dedication to the service and safety of others, which reflects the way she lived every day,” the La Mesa Police Department wrote on Facebook. “Officer Craven was known for her perseverance, courage and compassion, qualities that inspired her peers and strengthened her community.”

Craven was inspired to go into law enforcement after she suffered a “traumatic assault in college” and was offered sympathy by one of the detectives, her father, David Craven, He told ABC10 San Diego.

“Lauren thought so much about the difference between these two that she said at the time, ‘I want to dedicate my life to being that good cop to anyone who needs me,'” the grieving father said.

He added: “I thought you turned your biggest fear into a source of motivation. Nothing will stop you, and it didn’t.”

Craven joined the Las Mesa Police Department in February 2024 after going through the police academy twice to achieve her goal of becoming an officer.

“My passion has always been serving others and there was never a doubt in my mind being a law enforcement officer was what I was meant to do,” Craven wrote during the hiring process with LMPD.

“This is who Lauren is and this is how she served and how she will be remembered,” La Mesa Police Chief Ray Sweeney said at a news conference Tuesday.

Craven last spoke to her family in Oregon as she drove to work on the night of her death.

“It’s going to be hard for a long time, but I’m having this conversation with you because I want people to know what was in Lauren’s heart and the compassion she showed to everyone she came in contact with,” David Craven said.

A grieving father remembers the moment two police officers in Bend, Oregon, knocked on his door in the middle of the night to inform them of the news of his daughter’s death.

“They said, ‘Can we come in?’ And I said, ‘Is this about my daughter Lauren?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘Is she dead?’ They said, ‘Sadly, yes.’ So where does it go from there?” David Craven asked.

The elder Craven, who called his daughter his best friend, had mixed feelings about her police tests.

“Did I fail that test? I would still have it,” he said. “But she wouldn’t have been able to achieve her dream. A lot of people never get to a place where they love what they do and do what they seem born to do. She did it.”