The Brevard County Sheriff's Office is remembering one of its own.

Deputy Kevin Stanton, 32, was killed when a semi-tractor trailer hit his patrol vehicle on Interstate 95 early Saturday in Titusville.

"Our hearts are broken this morning," said Sheriff Wayne Ivey. "We lost one of our family, lost somebody that we all know, we all hang out with, we all loved."

Ivey said the 11-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office was on his way to train the agency's newest officers when he died.

"He was a great young man," Ivey said. "Never saw him when he wasn't excited and proud to be not only a law enforcement officer, but that he wasn't proud to be a member of this agency. he just absolutely loved it."

The Florida Highway Patrol said 26-year-old Leo Smith Jr. was driving southbound when a front tire blew on his semi truck. He lost control and hit Deputy Stanton's marked patrol car, which was also heading south.

"Preliminarily it looks like a tire malfunction," said Lt. Channing Taylor. "We don't see any driver error that would let us indicate that he did something wrong."

Stanton had aspirations to become an investigative agent with the Sheriff's Office.

It's up to Sheriff Ivey now to honor his life, and console his family and coworkers.

"As you look into each one of their faces, you see the hurt, you see the pain, you hurt for them," Ivey said. "Each one of them knows how much Kevin loved his job."

The Sheriff's Office said it's working with Stanton's family on funeral arrangements.