BILLERICA, Mass. — A police officer working at a construction site in Massachusetts was killed in an accident Friday afternoon.

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Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Billerica Chief of Police Roy Frost confirmed that Sgt. Ian Taylor, 49, was fatally injured just before 2 p.m. Friday, when an excavator backing up at the site struck him. He was transported to the hospital where he later died, Ryan said at a news conference Friday night, according to WFXT.

Frost said that Taylor was a 21-year law enforcement veteran, according to the news station. He had been in the Billerica Police Department since 2011.

“He’s an unbelievable police officer. We were lucky to have him and have him work with us,” Frost said according to WFXT. “Sergeant Taylor has done a lot for the community of Billerica and this region. He is an unbelievable police officer, a detective assigned to the federal drug task force for a long time. He is now assigned to the Substance Abuse Prevention Committee in Billerica, where he and our substance abuse people go out every week on Wednesdays and meet with people who are suffering from opiate abuse and find ways to help them. This is what defines this man that he did all the time. He did it passionately. He loved helping the people in this community.”

“I want you folks to know Sergeant Taylor’s life made an impact while he was here,” Frost continued. “His life had meaning. He’s helped so many people. He’s saved so many people. His life had impact, it had meaning and I’m proud to have had him working for me here in Billerica.”

The circumstances behind Sgt. Taylor’s death remains under investigation by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, Billerica police and Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the District Attorney’s Office, the DA’s office said. It is also being investigated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

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