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Procession Held For Laguna Beach Motor Officer Killed In Crash

LAGUNA BEACH (CBSLA.com) — A police escort Tuesday was accompanying the body of a Laguna Beach Police Department motor officer who died in a collision over the weekend.

The procession for 41-year-old Jon Coutchie began at 9 a.m. from the Orange County Coroner's Office.

City employees lined the driveway of the mortuary to pay their respects to Coutchie, who died when his motorcycle collided with a Chevrolet pickup truck just after 11:30 p.m. Saturday on South Coast Highway.

Coutchie was reportedly traveling at a high rate of speed while responding to a "reckless driving call", officials said.

Coutchie, who was the first Laguna Beach officer to die in the line of duty in 60 years, was born in Tuscon, Ariz. but grew in Orange County, graduating from Laguna Hills High School in 1989.

He joined the military after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and became an U.S. Army Ranger during his four tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2003-2007.

Police officials sponsored him at the Goldenwest Police Academy in 2008, and he was sworn in to the police department in March 2009.

The department says Coutchie was selected to serve as a motor officer, a coveted position, in March of 2013.

He is survived by his mother, father, brother, step-sister and girlfriend of six years.

RELATED STORY: Laguna Beach Motor Officer Killed In Line Of Duty

(©2013 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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