A year after police Office Mia Goodwin was killed while working a traffic accident, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department held a pre-dawn procession on Thursday to honor her life and service.
Goodwin, 33, died on the side of Interstate-85 when two tractor-trailers collided then struck multiple police vehicles. Thursday, Dec. 22, was the one-year anniversary of her death.
Goodwin was hired by CMPD in October 2015 and worked in the department’s University City division in north Charlotte.
The memorial procession began around 3:15 a.m.– the time Goodwin was killed — and involved dozens of CMPD patrol vehicles that traveled from Uptown Charlotte, with their lights and sirens on, to the spot where Goodwin died.
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“It is a somber moment for our department as we remember what we went through last year, when our department was changed forever,” Chief Johnny Jennings told reporters at the scene.
Goodwin was a wife and mother of three children. Her family was not present for the procession but has kept in contact with the department, Jennings said.
”They have their struggles, as expected, one year later, but it’s part of the healing process,” he said.“I think they understand that, and they’re going to continue to stay strong from here.”
In September, city council voted to name a bridge that crosses I-85 at W.T. Harris Boulevard the Officer Mia Goodwin Bridge.
Since the incident, the department has increased its safety measures for officers responding to traffic accidents, Jennings said.
These measures include placing additional markings on the back of police vehicles, using beacon lights and adding additional cones at accident scenes so that drivers are given additional warnings.
Daniel Leon Morgan, 51, was charged with involuntary manslaughter, misdemeanor death by vehicle, failure to reduce speed and felony failure to move over for stopped emergency vehicles. He was indicted by a grand jury in January and is scheduled to appear in court next month.