MIT officer killed was brother of Hendrick Motorsports employee

The MIT police officer who was shot and killed in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings was the brother of an employee at Hendrick Motorsports, one of NASCAR’s leading teams, Hendrick said Friday.

Sean Collier, 26, who died Thursday night after being shot on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus, was the brother of Andrew Collier, 25, a machinist at Hendrick’s engine department, Hendrick said.

“The thoughts and prayers of everyone at Hendrick Motorsports are with Andrew Collier and his family,” Hendrick said in a statement from its Charlotte, N.C., headquarters.

Hendrick’s drivers in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series are five-time champion Jimmie Johnson, four-time champion Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne.

At Kansas Speedway, site of the next Cup race, Johnson told reporters Friday that “we are one big family and it’s sad and unfortunate to see a fellow teammate and his family going through such a tough time.”

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