LOWELL, MASS. (WHDH) - A fallen Virginia police officer from New Hampshire, who was also the mother of a 2-year-old daughter, will be laid to rest in Lowell this week.
Officer Katie Thyne was conducting a traffic stop in Newport News on Thursday night when a drug suspect suddenly accelerated, dragging Thyne for about a block, according to Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew. The car then crashed into a tree, leaving Thyne pinned between the car and tree.
Thyne, who suffered multiple injuries, later died at a Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.
A wake for the Navy veteran will be held Friday at Immaculate Conception Church from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. A funeral will be held Saturday at the church at 11 a.m. A burial ceremony will follow at Lowell Cemetery.
Thyne had been with the Newport News Police Department since 2018. She was born in Lowell and later moved to Hudson, New Hampshire.
Thyne was a shining light to all who knew her, according to Drew. She leaves behind a mother, brother, stepfather, 2-year-old daughter, and a loving partner.
“If you ever saw her, all she did was smile. You would almost start to laugh at her,” Drew said of Thyne. “I don’t know about what but she was always smiling.”
Thyne also worked as an assistant youth basketball coach in her free time.
The suspect, identified by police as 38-year-old Vernon Green II, was arrested and charged with felony homicide, evading and eluding, and possession of narcotics.
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