A West Yorkshire Police officer succumbed Monday evening to injuries after being hit by a lorry. The officer was helping a woman whose car had broken down and was parked in the emergency lane.

Police Constable Mark Goodlad, from East Yorkshire, was killed in a traffic collision that occurred Monday at 4:15 p.m., on the southbound carriageway of M1 between junctions 39 and 38.

Goodlad, 41, who was on duty as a Motorway Patrol Roads Policing officer, had stopped to help the 51-year-old motorist. While he was assisting her, a heavy goods vehicle collided with the victim and the marked police car, according to the West Yorkshire Police. The motorist suffered minor injuries.

"People sometimes overlook the real essence of policing. We exist to protect the public from threat and harm. Sometimes it is about crime, sometimes disorder. Today, it was about the dangerous environment of the motorway," said Sir Norman Bettison, chief constable of West Yorkshire Police.

"PC Mark Goodlad was assisting a vulnerable motorist, who had broken down in that dangerous space. He was doing his job as his colleagues do day in day out. Police officers put themselves at risk for others," he said.

"Mark paid the ultimate sacrifice and we are all proud of his bravery and are saddened by his loss. Our thoughts and sympathy are with Mark's family. We shall try to be there for them as Mark was there for the public at large," Bettison added.

The 44-year-old male driver of the lorry has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. The southbound carriageway remains closed until further notice.