BOSTON -- A 38-year-old Worcester police officer was fatally injured in an off-duty crash early Saturday, a police department spokesman said.

Officer Mark D. Bisnette was taken to a Worcester hospital after his car was found off the side of Route 31 in Holden at about 2:30 a.m. Bisnette was heading home when his Ford Explorer slid off the side of a snowy road and struck a utility pole, Worcester Sgt. Kerry Hazelhurst said in a statement.

Paramedics and fire crews labored for 20 minutes to free Bisnette from the car after it snapped the utility poll and rolled over onto its roof, pinning him inside, the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester reported. He later died at the hospital.

Hazelhurst said Bisnette was well-liked and well-respected by his colleagues at the police department.

"Officer Bisnette was a giver, he gave of his time, he gave of his efforts and he gave of himself," Hazelhurst wrote.

Bisnette joined the Worcester Police Department after graduating from the academy in July 1996.

He is survived by his wife and four children, who range in age from 3 to 10.