A funeral was held Friday for a Winchester police officer who was recently killed in a crash as he responded to a call.
Loved ones and community members remembered Officer Hunter Edwards.
Edwards, 30, died after his patrol car struck a tree as he was rushing to back up fellow officers responding to a large fight on Saturday, November 24, over Thanksgiving weekend.
Just two months earlier, Edwards married Tara Edwards and considered her son to be his son.
“He was just a good man, a good person,” said Tara Edwards, suddenly a widow. “He loved what he did.”
His mother, Anne-Berry Wade, said policing was in his blood. His father was an officer, and she was once in law enforcement, too.
“He majored in criminal justice in college, and I think there was never any doubt in his mind that that was the career path that would be the perfect one for him,” Wade said.
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Tara Edwards said it's no surprise her husband was hurrying to help fellow officers when he crashed.
“He didn't have to be asked to do that. He just took initiative on his own to always be there and help go above and beyond,” she said.
In addition to being a patrol officer, Edwards trained for the department’s SWAT team and Civil Disturbance Response Unit.
First responders stood atop Interstate 66 overpasses to pay tribute as his body was returned to Winchester on Monday.
“Anytime you have a line of duty death, it creates a huge hole, and it's very painful for the men and women of the department,” Winchester Police Chief John Piper said.
