Los Angeles Police Department officials are mourning the death of Officer Kent Carter, who died on Dec. 12 in a traffic collision in Santa Ana. Carter, who currently worked with the department’s Emergency Operation Division, was a 29-year LAPD veteran who previously worked in the LAPD’s Wilshire, Rampart and  77th Divisions.

Carter was riding his 2007 Suzuki motorcycle northbound on Santiago Canyon Road around 4:30 p.m. when his bike veered into the opposite lanes of oncoming traffic for unknown reasons. He collided with another motorcyclist, riding a 1999 Honda, who was traveling southbound on Santiago Canyon Road. Immediately following the first collision, Carter was struck a second time by a cyclist riding a 2007 Honda motorcycle, traveling southbound on Santiago Road. That rider and his female passenger were ejected from their motorcycle and landed in the southbound lane of Santiago Canyon Road. Carter’s bike came to rest on the right shoulder.

Medical personnel responded to the scene and treated the driver of the 2007 Honda and his female passenger. They were transported to the hospital in serious condition. Carter and the driver of the 1999 Honda were both pronounced dead at the scene of the collision.

Carter also worked in the LAPD’s at Training Division, where he trained thousands of officers. In 1998, he was assigned to LAPD’s Labor Relations Division, now under Emergency Operations Division, and had been working there since.

“Kent was the most gracious, warm, and considerate individual I have ever met,” said Lt. Andrew Neiman, of Emergency Operations Division. “He loved his family, loved life, and was looking forward to a wonderful retirement in a year. His passing will create a huge void in the department.”

Carter is survived by his wife Sharon, his 27 year-old son Preston, 25 year-old daughter Courtney, and his brother Darryl Carter, who is a retired Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy.