Off-duty police officer and mother of two killed while helping elderly woman cross the street

Valley Village, CA-An off-duty sheriff’s detective was struck and killed by a car while she was in the middle of helping an elderly woman cross the street who had fallen in the middle of the road.

Amber Joy Leist, a 41-year-old mother of two and a 12-year veteran of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, had stopped her car in Valley Village, California, ‪on Sunday morning at around 11 a.m.‬ when she saw an elderly woman fall while she was crossing the street.

Leist parked her car near the intersection of Riverside Drive and Whitsett Avenue to help the fallen woman but was struck by an oncoming vehicle when she attempted to return to her car.

Leist was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced deceased.

"Today the LA County Sheriff's Department is grieving," said Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva in a statement on Twitter. "We are shocked and stunned by the sudden loss of a family member … She was an outstanding detective who lead by example."

Police are investigating the circumstances around the accident but the driver involved in Leist’s death stopped at the scene and was cooperating with investigators.