A D.C. police officer died in a hospital Wednesday, two weeks after he was struck by a vehicle while aiding a stranded motorist on Interstate 695, officials said.
Officer Terry Bennett, 32, a nearly eight-year veteran of the department, was on duty on the evening of Dec. 23 when he got out of his cruiser to help someone whose car had broken down on the highway, authorities said.
A vehicle traveling at high speed hit the officer while he was on foot, according to the department. The crash occurred about 10:10 p.m. in the eastbound lanes of the freeway near South Capitol Street. The driver of the vehicle that had broken down was not injured.
The driver who hit Bennett remained on the scene and was taken to a hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, police said. There is no public record of charges being filed, and police officials said in a statement Thursday that the crash remains under investigation.
Bennett, who was born and raised in the District, was a graduate of Ballou High School, according to D.C. police. After graduating from Bucknell University, police said, he joined the department in 2018. He was assigned to the 1st District upon his graduation from the police academy.
Authorities said Bennett also spent time mentoring young people and previously worked as an assistant dean at Ballou, before later becoming an assistant coach and defensive coordinator of the school’s football team.
Kenny Brown, Ballou’s head football coach, said in an interview Thursday that he got a call on the night of Dec. 23 about Bennett being critically injured. He said his first thought was to try to call Bennett. In more than eight years of coaching together, it had become instinctive for him to turn to Bennett as a steady presence amid crisis. His second thought was how to tell the students.
The students loved Bennett, Brown said. He played the good cop to Brown’s bad cop during practices, earning them the nicknames Boone and Yoast, from the movie “Remember the Titans.” Brown said that Bennett proved to the players that a kid from Southeast Washington could attend a prestigious private college, and he once gave the coat off his back to a student in need. Bennett ended every huddle by reminding the teens to keep out of trouble, and his mantra was, “Stay out the way.”
“Coach Terry to them was a mentor, he was a father figure, he was a hero,” Brown said. “Coach Terry Bennett is a hero. That’s what he was to this community and that’s what he was to the guys.”
In a statement, interim police chief Jeffery Carroll said Bennett was a “model officer, a born and raised Washingtonian who wanted to make a positive impact on his community, dedicating himself to bettering the lives of young people.”
Carroll said Bennett’s death is “devastating for both our department and our city.”
D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser said in statement Thursday that Bennett “tragically lost his life in the line of duty while doing what he was known to do — helping and caring for the people around him.”
“He was a father, a husband, and a beloved member of our community,” the mayor said. “A son of Washington, DC, Officer Bennett was deeply committed to his hometown and especially to our young people. Through coaching, mentorship, and public service, he impacted the lives of countless students and Washingtonians and he leaves behind a legacy of love and courage.”
D.C. Council member Trayon White Sr. (D-Ward 8) posted a Facebook tribute to Bennett, who he said he had known since childhood.
“Our community beamed with pride when Terry went on to Bucknell University,” White wrote. “Wherever he went, his wit, willpower, and intelligence followed. More importantly, so did his love for people. That love showed up in how he coached, how he mentored young people, and how he served this city every day in uniform.”
Bennett is the 12th D.C. police officer to die in the line of duty since 2004, according to D.C. police records. The last person was Wayne David, 51, who was killed in August 2024 by a gun that went off as he attempted to retrieve it from a storm drain.
The incident involving Bennett was one of two recent cases in the D.C. area involving police officers on foot who were hit by a vehicle. On Dec. 27, a U.S. Park Police officer checking a disabled vehicle on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway was hit by a motorist who was subsequently arrested for driving under the influence. The officer was treated at a hospital and released that day.
An off-duty Baltimore police officer was killed Dec. 20 in a multi-vehicle crash after colliding with another vehicle, according to state officials.
Hundreds of law enforcement officers lined the streets Thursday afternoon, paying their respects as Bennett’s body was transported from MedStar Washington Hospital Center to the D.C. medical examiner’s office.
In addition to D.C. police, Secret Service agents, National Guard troops and U.S. Park Police on horseback were stationed along Third Street NW near the U.S. Capitol. Officers held their hands over their hearts as a brigade of police motorcycles and cruisers drove past.
Inside the cars sat Carroll, Bowser, and Bennett’s wife and parents. The street fell quiet as they drove past, the only noise coming from a helicopter overhead.
Dana Hedgpeth contributed to this report.
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