Community Mourns Constable Mia Lay After Fatal Redfern Crash

Family and friends of Constable Mia Lay gathered at the Redfern crash site on Friday to pay their respects to the 20-year-old police officer who was killed in a car crash the previous day.

Daniel Vasquez, Constable Lay's partner and also a member of the NSW Police Force, was among those who placed flowers at the location where she died. Her father planted bright yellow flowers at the site.

"She was the happiest girl I've met when she was with me, when she was at work," Mr Vasquez said on behalf of the family. "And I've asked for everyone to remember how stunning and beautiful she was."

"I know myself, she will always be in my heart. I've just lost the love of my life," he added.

Constable Lay died in a car crash in the early hours of Friday morning while responding to reports of a stolen car in the nearby suburb of Glebe. She was sitting in the passenger seat of a marked police vehicle travelling along Gibbons Street when it hit a tree near the intersection of Regent Street.

Constable Lay's father was at the scene where his daughter died. Her mother, Tamara, wanted everyone to know how much her daughter had loved her work.

"She was happy in the police, she was good at her job and how loved she was by everyone in the community. She was a kind-hearted person and gave so much love to everyone that she cared about," Mr Vasquez said.

Redfern resident Tim Cochran, who had a positive interaction with Constable Lay earlier this year, remembered her as someone who "brings a lot of good into the world".

"She just struck me as an incredibly confident and competent, and reassuring person for someone her age," he said. "If somebody like that can leave an impression on me from just a few minutes of interaction, I just can only imagine how much it would hurt for the people who actually know her."

NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon paid tribute to Constable Lay, saying she had shown "exceptional promise" in the short time she had been in the Force.

"To Mia 'Thank you for your courage, thank you for choosing to join the NSW Police Force, and thank you for serving the community of New South Wales, you will not be forgotten,'" he said.

The investigation into the critical incident is ongoing and is being assisted by the Crash Investigations Unit.