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Travis Nissen was remembered on Saturday as a warm person who was dedicated to his job as a police officer and to the middle school students with whom he worked.

Nissen, 27, a town of Ulster police officer for five years and the school resource officer at M. Clifford Miller Middle School in Lake Katrine, died late Friday after the car he was driving went off state Route 28 in the Olive hamlet of Shokan and struck a utility pole, according to the Ulster Police Department and the state police.

Nissen was off duty when the 2001 Buick he was driving went off westbound Route 28 near Dubois Road about 10:30 p.m. and struck a utility pole, police said.

They said Nissen was taken to Kingston Hospital by the Olive First Aid squad and died from his injuries at 11:41 p.m.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation by state police.

State police Sgt. Ed McKenna said Nissen was alone in the car and was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. Ulster police said Nissen was on his way to his home in Shokan when the crash occurred, but they didn’t say where he was coming from.

Nissen joined the Ulster Police Department in 2006, became a full-time officer in 2007 and was assigned in October 2008 to be the school resource officer at Miller Middle School. He formerly worked for the Shandaken Police Department.

Nissen’s wife, Kristy, is a special education teacher at Miller. They were married this past August.

Town of Ulster Police Chief Matthew Taggard said in a prepared statement issued Saturday that Nissen’s “dedication to both his job and the youth of Miller school (was) second to none, and the painful void he leaves behind will be difficult to fill.”

“Travis will be remembered by his fellow officers for his warm smile, his love for the outdoors and his love for the students ... he was entrusted to protect,” Taggard’s statement added. “He will not be forgotten.”

Taggard said by phone later Saturday that he knew Nissen before the officer joined the Ulster force.

“I had him in the (police) academy, where I was a drill instructor,” Taggard said. “You could see that he was bright and had a promising future from day one. He was very passionate about the job and is irreplaceable at the school.”

Taggard said Nissen’s co-workers were shaken by the officer’s death.

“We are all going through a tragedy that we’ve never experienced here before,” he said. “We, however, have to keep moving forward. What has been helpful is the outpouring of emotion we’ve received so far from the public. It is greatly appreciated.”

Former Ulster Supervisor Nicky Woerner, under whom Nissen was hired by the town, said he considered Nissen “a very close, personal friend” and that the officer’s death is “very tragic.”

“He devoted his life to the citizens of Ulster and to the children of Miller school,” Woerner said.

The school district, in a posting on its website on Saturday, said Nissen “was an integral part of our community, loved and trusted by students and staff.”

The district also said Miller Middle School will open two hours late on Monday and that members of a crisis intervention team will be in the building to help students and staff deal with Nissen’s death.

The Kingston Police Department offered condolences in a posting on its Facebook page.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the Officer Nissen’s family and our brothers and sisters at the town of Ulster Police Department,” the posting stated. “Officer Nissen, you will be missed by those that knew you and worked with you. Rest in peace and God bless.”

Nissen was the son of Mary Merck of Boiceville and David Nissen of Mount Tremper. He also is survived by two brothers and his stepfather.

Nissen graduated in 2002 from Onteora High School, where he was on both the baseball and golf teams, and in 2004 from Ulster County Community College, where he also played golf, with an associate’s degree in criminal justice.

Jay Rhinehart, the assistant golf coach at UCCC when Nissen played there, remembered him fondly on Saturday.

“Travis was a great kid and came from a wonderful family,” Rhinehart said. “He was a true gentleman and a good golfer, too.”

Funeral arrangements for Nissen were being made by the Keyser Funeral Service in Kingston but had not been finalized as of Saturday evening.

City Editor Jeremy Schiffres and staff writer Eric Houghtaling contributed to this report