A University Police officer who served with the department for about four years died in a traffic accident Friday in Orlando.
Officer Jean-Guy Deffense, 43, was driving west on an entrance ramp from State Road 408 onto Florida’s Turnpike, according to a Florida Highway Patrol accident report.
Deffense lost control of his 2008 Dodge Ram 1500 as he drove around a curve.
The truck veered into a grass shoulder, rolled over, struck a metal pole and came to a stop on its roof, according to the report.
Emergency officials who responded to the accident pronounced Deffense, who was wearing his seatbelt, dead at the scene.
His wife, Marcia Wolf, 45, was also in the car and did not suffer any injuries.
She was also wearing her seatbelt, according to the report.
Deffense was an active member of the UPD honor guard and a sniper rifleman in the department’s Critical Incident Response Team.
UPD spokesman Maj. Brad Barber said Deffense worked as a road patrol officer.
He was off duty at the time of the accident.
A memorial service for Deffense will be held at the Canterbury Showplace Center, located at 23100 W. Newberry Road, at noon Wednesday, according to the UPD Facebook page.
Barber described Deffense as a role model for other officers in the department.
“Officer Deffense was a consummate law enforcement professional,” he said. “An excellent example for all to emulate.”
The Deffense family is asking the public for all donations to be made to the Alachua County Humane Society.
Contact Kathryn Varn at kvarn@alligator.org.
