JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Fellow officers, friends and loved ones gathered Thursday evening to remember a man who gave 18 years of his life to serve and protect the city of Jacksonville.

More than 100 people lifted candles together at a 9 p.m. vigil for a Jacksonville sheriff's officer killed in a car crash while off duty Wednesday night.

Officer Michael Hartsfield died when the car in which he was riding crashed on Fort Caroline Road. Police said his girlfriend, Vicki Susan Mullins, was driving.

Hartsfield and the driver had to be cut out of the vehicle, and both were taken to Shands-Jacksonville Medical Center, where Mullins, 44, was in stable condition.

Those who gathered to honor Hartsfield lined the officer's driveway, surrounding his patrol car. More than 40 of the people in the crowd were fellow police officers.

"I'm really glad I could just be out here to see all the support and see how many friends he has because this is exactly what he would have wanted," said Hartsfield's son, John Hartsfield.

The group said a special prayer for the fallen officer, who is being remembered by his colleagues as a family man who loved his job and loved to fish.

Last summer, Hartsfield received a life-saving award for pulling crash victim from a burning motorcycle. Those who knew the officer best said that's exactly the type of person he was.

"I'm stunned. Ever since last night, the phone rang at 2:30 a.m., and I thought it was a friend just being stupid. The next thing I know, my mom was freaking out saying my dad was killed. I felt like it was a bad dream. I feel like this is a bad dream, but I'm just not going to wake up," said Hartsfield's son, John Hartsfield.

Michael Hartsfield is survived by his three children.

Funeral services for the 50-year-old officer have not been arranged.