Torres leaves a wife and two children. Watch video
An updated version of this story is now available at MassLive.
Westfield police officer Jose Torres poses in a 1999 photo from the archives of The Republican.
07.26.2012 | WESTFIELD -- Bunting hung from police headquarters Thursday to mark the death of officer Jose Torres.WESTFIELD -- Police officials have identified the city police officer struck and killed while working a construction detail Thursday morning as 27-year-veteran Jose Torres.
He leaves a wife and two children, officials said during a 2 p.m. press conference.
Torres was cited at least twice for heroism during his career with the Police Department. He was recognized for an incident on July 11, 1996 in which he was dispatched to an attempted suicide on Broad Street. Seeing a man on the second-story fire escape with a rope around his neck, Torres ran up the fire escape and grabbed the man, preventing the suicide, according to the police commendation. The man then jumped back through a window and Torres continued to hold on, preventing the man from jumping out another window. In that incident, police said Torres suffered permanent scarring to his face.
Torres also was commended for his actions in deploying a so-called "stinger spike," designed to stop speeding vehicles on Feb. 24, 2000. The commendation cited Torress for having deployed the spike in front of a speeding vehicle "just seconds before contact. "
Torres died as a result injuries sustained, according to Capt. Hippolito Nunez, when he was hit by a dump truck while directing traffic in the vicinity of 44 Pontoosic Road.
The accident happened around 7:30 a.m. The officer was taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield and police were notified by the hospital about two hours later that the officer had died, Nunez said.
The construction site is part of a West Springfield water line project. West Springfield is in the process of upgrading a water line that begins in Westfield on Shaker Road and Canal Street, according to a project description posted to Westfield's website.
The contractor is listed as Revoli Construction of North Reading, Mass.
Investigators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were at the scene Thursday morning.
This is a developing story. Details will be added as our reporting continues today.