Off-duty officer Constable Ricardo Torchia, from 23 division in north Etobicoke, died in a motorcycle crash Tuesday.
An off-duty Toronto police officer was killed during a fiery motorcycle crash on a highway north of the city Tuesday afternoon.
The collision occurred around 2 p.m. on Highway 7 near County Road 50 in Vaughan.
Police identified the victim as 30-year-old Constable Riccardo Torchia, a front-line patrol officer at 23 division in nearby north Etobicoke. He had been on the force less than three years.
Two motorcycles were driving in the opposite direction of an eastbound dump truck when one collided with the truck as it turned.
Witnesses said the motorcycle burst into flames, which engulfed its rider. An employee of a nearby auto shop used an extinguisher in an attempt to squelch the fire.
It was not immediately clear if anyone else was injured.
The head of the city's police union said Constable Torchia was well-respected during his short time on the force.
"He was a good young officer… he will be missed by the Toronto Police Service and particularly by the people he worked with," said Toronto Police Association president Mike McCormack. "It drives homes the reality that these traffic accidents affect everybody."
He said Constable Torchia was unmarried and had no children.
The area was closed down for the rest of the afternoon and part of the evening as York Regional Police investigated.
Adrian Morrow