State police are investigating a crash that killed a 28-year-old Orange police officer Sunday.

Officer Kevin Czesnowski died when his SUV crashed into a concrete barrier on the Wilbur Cross Parkway. He was about a mile from his home in Hamden.

The Orange police chief calls Czesnowski an extremely dedicated officer who put the needs of others ahead of his own. In November, he helped rescue an 83-year-old woman who was trapped in a bedroom during a house fire.

Czesnowski?s father says his son had so much ahead of him and was shortchanged by the terrible tragedy.

Police say Czesnowski was off duty when he crashed and wasn?t wearing a seat belt. They say he was ejected from the vehicle.