LAS VEGAS -- The Metro police officer killed in a collision early Thursday was a lifelong Las Vegan who graduated from Clark High School.

James Manor, 28, was described by Sheriff Doug Gillespie as a “hard worker” and a loving single father with a large family in the Las Vegas valley.

Gillespie said the latter extends beyond Manor’s relatives.

“We refer to ourselves as a family, policing in general as a profession is a very close-knit group of people,” he said at a 10 a.m. news conference.

Manor's death came just 13 days shy of his two-year anniversary with the department.

Gillespie said the timing makes this loss is even more difficult to bear because it comes during Police Memorial Month. A service is scheduled this afternoon in Carson City to honor fallen police officers around Nevada. Police officers in southern Nevada will shroud their badges until Manor is laid to rest.

“Even though it isn’t our first time, it doesn’t make it any easier,” Gillespie said of the custom.

The man accused of steering his pickup truck into the path of Manor’s cruiser is being treated at University Medical Center.

Calvin Darling, 45, will be charged with felony drunken driving. Gillespie said he does not have a criminal record.