FALLEN OFFICER SGT WOLTERBEEK CHALLENGE COIN FUNDRAISER PRESALE

An 18-year Biddeford Police Department veteran was killed in a crash on the Piscataqua River Bridge early Thursday morning as he returned home from work, according to Biddeford police Chief JoAnne W. Fisk.

Biddeford police Sgt. Jacob Wolterbeek, a 41-year-old resident of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was identified as the victim of the fatal incident on the high-level Interstate 95 bridge. The accident occurred about 1:14 a.m. on the Maine side of the bridge when Wolterbeek, a father of three young children, was driving home from his shift in Biddeford, Fisk said.

“Sergeant Wolterbeek was a respected member of the Biddeford Police Department and a valued City employee,” Fisk said in a prepared statement released Thursday morning. “In this time of sorrow, our thoughts and prayers are with Sergeant Wolterbeek’s family, friends, and colleagues. We extend our deepest condolences and offer our full support to them during this difficult time. We ask the community to join us in honoring Sergeant Wolterbeek’s memory and service.”