Florida lost a Trooper yesterday

[Rusty]

A 30 year old Trooper was killed on I-75 south of Ocala yesterday When a pick up truck struck her patrol car.

http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/fhp ... h-o/nfn7Q/

[AJMD429]

That sucks. Its usually a car wreck that gets them.

[Centennial]

2 people died. The lady trooper and the tow truck driver; (Texting and driving??)

According to reports, the cars involved in the crash were off to the shoulder of the road, and as the trooper was talking with the tow truck driver, John Duggan, a pickup truck traveled onto the east shoulder on the southbound lanes of I-75.

Troopers said the pickup struck the FHP patrol car, Richard, Duggan, and a pedestrian, Robert Phillips, as they stood on the shoulder of the road.

Richard and Duggan died at the scene, according to authorities.

Phillips was transported in critical condition to Ocala Regional Hospital.

[Thunder50]

Prayers up for those killed and their familys.

We had the same thing here in Colorado, the other day, but luckily the trooper was OK, just battered up somewhat.

[Griff]

The shoulder of the road is a VERY dangerous place., but after hundreds of times it's hard to not become complacent. I remember being told that according to a study, tow trucks were far less likely to be struck than patrol cars, so we were told to turn off the red & blues, leaving the amber roof flashers on, looking more like a tow truck (in the dark, anyway). Never have found the actual "study", but it was dept. policy.

Prayers up for the families.

[Old Savage]

LAPD, has lost three in about the last month to traffic accidents.

[AJMD429]

I know they are busy doing whatever they had to stop to do, but whenever I'm on a roadside, I constantly look at the oncoming traffic, in case some yahoo is veering off the road. Too bad at least one of these folks wasn't doing that; maybe they could have warned everyone to jump aside.

[Canuck Bob]

Very tragic, two lost in Alaska as well recently. God Bless them and comfort their families.

[firefuzz]

People become fixated on the activity on the side of the road and a lot of time unintentionally steer towards it, if a driver has alcohol on board the tenancy seems to increase. I got lucky on several occasions, still having to bail over a guard rail or into a ditch to avoid being hit.

Although I still do it on a volunteer/un-paid basis, I sometimes wonder why anyone takes that job anymore. The JOB has it's rewards sure.....but not near as many as it has curses. When I left full-time law enforcement in 1985, I was working 80-100 hour weeks and getting paid for 40, the stress and frustration of the job was fast becoming overwhelming, it would not have paid to be the next child molester I had to investigate and arrest. But thankfully my father wisely betrayed a conversation he and I had to two local judges who were lifelong friends of my family. These men counselled me and I believe pulled some strings to get me into the job I happily spent the next 25 years of my life pursuing. As a firefighter the traumatic scenes and issues were still there, but we were generally still well thought of and praised, even when our best efforts to save someone's property fell woefully short of the mark. Police officers are cursed and despised no matter how hard they work to courteously and professionally do their jobs....and it gets worse every day. For some the price they pay to try and protect the sheep from the wolves is much too high.

God bless those that lost their lives and also their families.

Rob

[7.62 Precision]

Very tragic, two lost in Alaska as well recently. God Bless them and comfort their families.

Trying to arrest a guy for driving without a license and then threatening the VPSO with a rifle. The guy's 19 year old son shot them. Didn't shoot the VPSO, probably because it is harder to shoot someone you know.

[RustyJr]

Rest in peace brothers and sisters . . .


RustyJr