By now many of our readers have probably seen the news that a Connecticut State Police trooper, who was a 19-year veteran officer, was struck and killed on March 29 when his vehicle was rear-ended by a semi-truck on Interstate 84. It was a tragedy that, at this point, is still under investigation. The initial reports do not have many details as to how or why the semi-truck struck the officer’s vehicle.
The 49-year-old victim was also a veteran of the Marine Corps. He is survived by a 13-year-old son and a 10-year-old daughter. His funeral was held on April 6, and police officers from around the country were in attendance.
Car accidents are a tragic and, unfortunately, common occurrence on the roads and highways of Connecticut. Some of them are truly “accidents,” but, in most cases, there is at least one party at fault. Distracted drivers, drunk drivers and fatigued drivers are everywhere, and all drivers on the roads should be focused on trying to be aware of these negligent and reckless drivers and be wary of the damage and injuries that they can cause.
In this recent incident, there could be a number of different reasons for why the semi-truck crashed into the back of the trooper’s police vehicle. Perhaps the driver was tired, having been behind the wheel for too many hours on the job. Or, perhaps an even higher degree of negligence was involved, such as alcohol consumption or texting and driving. Or, maybe the driver just made a minor error, like taking his eyes off of the road for a quick second to change the radio station. Hopefully the investigation into this incident will shed some light on the cause of the accident.
Source: Stars and Stripes, “Conn. trooper killed in crash, remembered as respected officer, Marine veteran, beloved father,” April 6, 2018
