Tim Forber, chief constable of North Yorkshire Police, said PC Rosie Prior was off-duty and stopped to help motorists who had been in an earlier, separate crash, which involved a black Ford Focus and silver Audi car.
PC Prior and Ryan Welford, 41, from Knaresborough, who was driving the Audi, died after being hit by a lorry while standing on the verge of the road near Bagby on Saturday morning (January 11).
A teenage boy from the Audi is in a serious but stable condition in hospital.
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Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “I’m deeply saddened by the deaths of PC Rosie Prior and Ryan Welford yesterday.
“Thinking of their families and friends and all PC Prior’s colleagues at this incredibly difficult time.
“It is a tragic reminder of the dedication and bravery police officers show each day to keep us safe.”
Mr Forber said PC Prior “epitomises the very best of British policing”.
North Yorkshire Police’s chief constable Tim Forber, left, said PC Rosie Prior, right, ‘epitomises the very best of British policing’ (Image: Danny Lawson/PA Wire and North Yorkshire Police) “Yesterday morning she was not on-duty on a shift, she was off-duty and she came across a road traffic collision on the A19, and she stopped to help,” he said.
“She got out, and like many police officers up and down the country, put herself on-duty.
“And it was whilst dealing with that incident that she was tragically killed.
He urged anyone with information about the crash to contact North Yorkshire Police.
The force said the driver of the lorry, a 65-year-old man from Berwick-upon-Tweed, was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. He has been released under investigation.
