Philadelphia Police Officer Andy Chan, who was critically injured in a crash six years ago, has died, the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) said Tuesday. Chan was 55 years old.
“It’s a sad day in the history of the department and the FOP: losing Andy Chan, one of our heroes,” Roosevelt Poplar, president of the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, said. “It’s heartbreaking for a lot of people.” Â
The organization did not share the specific cause of Chan’s death.
In January 2019, Chan was riding his motorcycle to work as a highway patrol officer when he was hit by a 79-year-old driver in Northeast Philadelphia. Chan, a 24-year veteran of the force, suffered a significant brain injury and was kept on a ventilator for weeks after the crash.
Eventually, Chan was able to breathe on his own but required around-the-clock care.
Andy Chan and family
Family photo
Investigators believed the crash was an accident.
On Tuesday, the Philadelphia Police Department said Chan was known “not only for his skill and professionalism, but for the infectious energy and dedication that he brought to every assignment.”
“To know Andy was to know someone who never sought the spotlight, yet somehow always brightened the room. He was trusted, respected, and loved by generations of Philadelphians, and his legacy will live on in the countless lives he touched — both inside and outside of the PPD,” the PPD said.
In an email, Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said of Chan, “For so many of us, Andy wasn’t just a name or a badge number — he was a presence. He was the kind of officer whose reputation reached every corner of this Department and City.”
Each December, Families Behind the Badge Children’s Foundation has raised money for Chan’s family and other families of fallen law enforcement through the annual Andy Chan Holiday Block Party. This year’s event, the sixth since his accident, is scheduled for Dec. 12 at Craft Hall in Philadelphia.
In a statement, the FBBCF said it plans to move forward with the event “to celebrate the life, the strength, and the courage of Andy and his family.”
“Anyone who crossed paths with Philadelphia Highway Patrolman Andy Chan (and there were MANY), can attest to his relentless energy, positivity and enthusiasm for the job. There is, was, and will be no one like him,” the nonprofit said. “Andy fought harder than anyone could have imagined these past six years. He fought for his wife. He fought for his kids. He fought for his family. And he fought for his brothers and sisters in blue, who he so deeply loved.”
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