When Central Berks Regional Police Chief Justin Johnson is out and about in the community, he often goes unrecognized.
Johnson told a crowd gathered inside the Don Thomas Stadium at Exeter High School on Tuesday afternoon that, despite his two decades on the job, people will ask him how long he’s been with the force. Not knowing his name or face, they assume he’s new.
Johnson said when that happens he points to his gray hair and explains that’s he’s certainly not a rookie.
Officer Kristen Yeager never had those kinds of conversations, Johnson said.
Central Berks Regional Police officer Kristen Yeager, 42, of Boyertown, was killed in a crash Friday, May 29, 2026, while responding to a call in Earl Township, authorities said. (Central Berks Regional Police Department)
In her 2½ years with the department, one of several local departments she served with during her career, Yeager quickly ingratiated herself. Whether representing the department at community events, responding to calls, coaching youth sports teams or volunteering, she was the kind of person who never went unnoticed.
“Everyone knew her and looked up to her,” Johnson said, adding that everywhere he would go he would run into someone who knew Yeager. “Her dedication to her community made her beloved and known to everyone.”
It was while displaying that dedication that Yeager’s life was cut tragically short.
On May 29, just before 8 p.m., Yeager was driving her police cruiser — lights flashing and sirens blaring — in response to a call. While eastbound on Route 73 in Earl Township her cruiser left the road and crashed into a tree.
The 42-year-old Yeager was thrown from the vehicle, suffering devastating blunt force injuries. She was pronounced dead a short time later at Reading Hospital.
Yeager of Boyertown left behind her husband, Dustin, and their three children, Tanner, Conner and Carli.
On Tuesday, friends, family, fellow first responders and community members gathered to celebrate Yeager’s life at an End of Watch ceremony.
Police motorcyclists from throughout eastern Pennsylvania arrive during the Central Berks Police Officer Kristen Yeager End of Watch Memorial Service on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at Don Thomas Stadium at Exeter High School. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Central Berks Police officers salute the remains of Central Berks Police Officer Kristen Yeager during an End of Watch Memorial Service on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at Don Thomas Stadium at Exeter High School. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Police officers from throughout Pennsylvania salute during the Central Berks Police Officer Kristen Yeager End of Watch Memorial Service on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at Don Thomas Stadium at Exeter High School. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
The police honor guard prepares to process into the stadium during the Central Berks Police Officer Kristen Yeager End of Watch Memorial Service on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at Don Thomas Stadium at Exeter High School. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
The Pennsylvania State Police Fife and Drums Corps leads the hearse bearing the remains of Central Berks Police Officer Kristen Yeager during the End of Watch Memorial Service on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at Don Thomas Stadium at Exeter High School. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
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Police motorcyclists from throughout eastern Pennsylvania arrive during the Central Berks Police Officer Kristen Yeager End of Watch Memorial Service on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at Don Thomas Stadium at Exeter High School. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
The event kicked off with a procession, led by police motorcycles driving slowly two-by-two with their red and blue lights flashing.
To the steady beat of booming bass drums and the rattle of snare drums, police cruisers and a pair of coach busses filled with friends and family followed, trailed by dozens and dozens of police officers, state troopers and other first responders on foot.
Those officers and troopers filed onto the football field inside the stadium, standing watch over the 90-minute ceremony in a pack 25 yards wide and 10 yards deep.
Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks during the Central Berks Police Officer Kristin Yeager End of Watch Memorial Service on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at Don Thomas Stadium at Exeter High School. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Gov. Josh Shapiro provided remarks about Yeager during the ceremony, saying he shared the heavy heart of all those who gathered.
Shapiro said Yeager was one of those special people who felt compelled to protect her community. Every day, he said, she would put on her uniform and badge, kiss her children goodbye and go out to selflessly serve.
“That is how she lived,” Shapiro said.
And while she was tough, the governor said, she was also compassionate and caring, which made her incredibly good at her job.
Shapiro said that softer side of Yeager was made clear by the stories her family and friends told about her.
“It struck me that love was the guiding force in Kristen’s life,” he said.
Shapiro said that while Yeager’s life was tragically short, its impact will be long-lasting. It’s proof of the difference that can be made when compassion, sacrifice, dedication and love come together, he said.
And that, Shapiro said, will be a legacy her children can be proud of.
“Your mommy was a real hero,” he said, looking toward Yeager’s children seated a few feet away with their father. “She was strong and she was tough. And she was loving with all of her heart.”
A mourner flies a flag during the Central Berks Police Officer Kristin Yeager End of Watch Memorial Service on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at Don Thomas Stadium at Exeter High School. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
That’s the same kind of description the Rev. Paul Jones shared of Yeager.
Jones told the crowd that he remembers the first time he met Yeager. It was June 2002 at the very same stadium where Tuesday’s ceremony was held, and she had just graduated from Exeter High School.
He asked her about her plans for her future, and Yeager didn’t hesitate.
“She was crystal clear,” Jones said. “She said, ‘Pastor Paul, I want to be a police officer.’”
Jones said she laid out her exact path, running through college to a career in a local, municipal police department.
“Not every graduating senior is that clear on their path for the future,” he said.
Members of the Central Berks Police enter End of Watch Memorial Service for Officer Kristin Yeager on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at Don Thomas Stadium at Exeter High School. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
But Yeager was driven and motivated and committed, Jones said, and followed that path with skill and joy — traits she never lost.
Jones said whenever he would run into Yeager, whether at an event or at the local Rita’s, she would always have a wide smile on her face. And she always had the same answer when he asked her how she was doing.
“Officer Yeager would always respond with a big Kristen Yeager smile and say, ‘I love being a police officer,’” he said. “She was doing what she was put on Earth to do.”
Jones said Yeager had otherworldly purpose, passion and heart, sharing a story from her college days that not many community members likely knew.
She was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and went through chemotherapy treatment. And although the process left her exhausted, she didn’t let it slow her down — including when it came to her role as a starting defender on the Shippensburg University field hockey team.
“A lesser spirit might sit out a year,” Jones said. “Quit wasn’t in her vocabulary. She was not going to be on the sidelines, she was not put on Earth to sit the bench.”
She kept playing, and contributed to the team’s first Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championship.
It’s things like that, Jones said, that enshrine Yeager’s legacy as one of determination and courage, of grit and moxie.
Community shows respect for fallen Central Berks Regional police officer (Photos)