Police say a Bridgeport parishioner was killed in a car crash in Derby Saturday night.

Officers say Jonathan Perez, 36, was driving a new Hyundai Sonata on Route 8 north when he lost control. They say he crashed into a tree by the exit 18 off-ramp around 11 p.m. Saturday.

Pastor John Peterson, of the Church of the Living Word in Bridgeport, says he was speechless when he learned one of his parishioners had been killed. He says Perez was a hardworking family man.

"We have lost a great man of God, a great father, a great husband, a great brother, a great cousin, uncle," he says. "He was a great man who loved God, who loved people."

State Sen. Dennis Bradley says this incident highlights the importance of careful driving in the cold weather when roads are dangerous. 

"We have to be mindful during this season of the conditions on the road. There's been many snowstorms that we've been hit with already and there are many more to come, and we have to be mindful that this is a very fragile life," Bradley says.

Peterson says funeral arrangements are still being made for Perez.

Police say the investigation into the crash is ongoing.