'It's always been my passion to serve others.' Loved ones remember Officer Lauren Craven at her funeral
LA MESA, Calif. (FOX5/KUSI) -- The funeral for fallen La Mesa Police Officer Lauren Craven took place at Skyline Church this morning with several family, friends, officials and law enforcement in attendance.
- Watch the report by Tony Shin in the video player above.
Last week, Officer Craven was tragically killed while rendering aid at the scene of a multi-vehicle crash on Interstate 8. The collision also killed the driver of the vehicle Craven was helping, who was identified as 19-year-old DeVeonte Lavell.
During the funeral ceremony, La Mesa Chief of Police Ray Sweeney spoke on behalf of the La Mesa Police Department. Officer Craven's family members also spoke at the funeral, including her father David, mother Belle and sister Margo.
Officer Craven's mother, Belle, paid tribute to her late daughter.
"At this stage in her life, she was very happy, she was confident, she loved being a police officer and all that came with it," Belle said. "She loved the people around her and she was truly coming into her own. For this, I will always be grateful, and although there will always be a hole in my heart for my dear sweet Lauren, I will try to stay open to the joy that I know she would have wanted for me and for all of us.”
La Mesa Police Chaplain Hannah Allen reflected on how Officer Craven served wholeheartedly and with compassion. During the ceremony, she shared words that the late officer spoke about being in law enforcement.
Chaplain Allen repeated Officer Craven's words, "'It’s always been my passion to serve others, and there’s never been a doubt in my mind that being in law enforcement is what I’m meant to do.'”
The procession, which departed from Snapdragon Stadium around 8:30 a.m., included over 700 vehicles comprising law enforcement and family members.
State Routes 94 and 125 from Spring Street in La Mesa were closed during the time of the procession.
