Loved ones of fallen Ohio policeman gather in Uniontown to remember him

UNIONTOWN, Pa. — Loved ones of an Ohio police officer who died Thursday gathered Friday night in Uniontown to remember him.

Hilliard Division of Police Officer Sean Johnson, 46, died after a crash Thursday during training exercises in northeast Columbus. While Johnson grew up in Uniontown, he worked as a police officer for the Hilliard Division of Police in Ohio for the past 16 years.%

%

Johnson's body was escorted from the crash site Thursday on Interstate 270 in Hilliard to the Franklin County morgue as onlookers saluted, and a flag was draped over a fire truck bucket.

His family in Uniontown, including his sister Lou Johnson, paid tribute to him the following day.

“They said it happened really fast, and he didn't feel anything. That didn't make it any better because we're feeling everything,” Lou Johnson said.

An investigation into what caused the fatal crash is ongoing, but police said Sean Johnson was an experienced motorcyclist and routinely rode his bike as part of the department's traffic control unit.

Back in his hometown, loved ones’ thoughts were on his two children, ages 14 and 11, whom he leaves behind.

“Now he gets no time with his kids. He doesn't get to see us no more. We don't get anything anymore because he's gone now,” Lou Johnson said.

Since the Hilliard Division of Police was formed in 1960, no officer had died in the line of duty.

The department said it’s covering the traveling costs and hotel expenses for Johnson’s family in Uniontown in order for them to attend his funeral in Ohio.

Cox Media Group