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Car Hits, Damages Officer Sean Collier Memorial At MIT

CAMBRIDGE (CBS) - A memorial to an MIT Police Officer killed by the Boston Marathon bombers was damaged by a car early Thursday morning.

Cambridge police said a driver slammed into the Officer Sean Collier Memorial at Main and Vassar streets around 12:30 a.m. The car also took out a tree.

The 52-year-old driver was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston with what police described as "non-life threatening injuries." His name has not been made public.

"It appears he was not under the influence of drugs/alcohol and there is minimal damage to the memorial," Cambridge Police spokesman Jeremy Warnick said in a statement.

MIT Police Chief John DiFava visits the granite memorial every day.  He called the incident "heartbreaking."

"It look likes it can be cleaned. It's also a testament to the construction and the designers and the architects because, from the pictures of the vehicle, it hit pretty hard," he told reporters.

Collier was ambushed, shot and killed in his police cruiser in this area on April 18, 2013 by the two men wanted for the marathon bombings.

A memorial fund has been set up in his name, You can learn more at officercolliermemorialfund.org

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