BOSTON -- State police are mourning the death of an off-duty trooper killed in a single-car crash in Hingham early Wednesday.

Officials said the trooper, identified as Gregory K. Porter, 33, of Hingham, was driving his personal vehicle, a 2000 Hyundai Elantra, when he struck a tree at the intersection of Central and Emerald streets. He was taken to South Shore Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Porter joined the State Police in 2002, and was honored for his role in rescuing the victim of a motor vehicle accident in the town of Bourne in 2006.

On that day, Porter and several other officers, at risk to their own safety, extricated a driver from a vehicle that had driven off the road and burst into flames.

“There is a profound sadness among the troops today, as we deal with the tragic death of one of our own,” said Colonel Mark F. Delaney, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police.

Porter is survived by his wife and two children, his parents, and three brothers, state police said.