NORTON SHORES, Mich. (WOOD) — A ten-year veteran of the Norton Shores Police Department is dead after his cruiser crashed early Wednesday morning.
Norton Shores police confirmed Wednesday afternoon that Officer Jonathan Ginka, 34, was killed in the crash while on duty.
A nearby resident reported the crash around 2:32 a.m. Wednesday on Henry Street between Ross and Forest Park roads, according to a news release from Norton Shores police.
The department says Ginka was severely injured in the crash. He was taken to Mercy Health Muskegon’s Hackley Hospital where he died.
Ginka leaves behind a wife and two children, according to Norton Shores police. They plan to release additional details about the crash during a news conference scheduled for 1 p.m. Wednesday.
Ginka was also a former North Muskegon firefighter, according to the fire department’s Facebook page. He was a graduate of Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s police academy, according to a Facebook post by instructor Robert Todd Christensen.
“It’s a terrible day and I’m with a broken heart,” Christensen wrote. “You will never be forgotten,” he added.
Michigan State Police are trying to determine what led up to the crash. Authorities marked tire tracks leading to a damaged tree. That’s where the wreckage of the police cruiser was resting Wednesday morning when 24 Hour News 8 arrived at the scene.
Crews could be seen loading the wreckage onto a flatbed around 7:30 a.m.