An Illinois state trooper was killed in the line of duty Thursday near Freeport, Illinois, police said. Trooper Brooke Jones-Story, 34, changed into killed Thursday while analyzing a semi-truck on US Route 20 westbound, west of Illinois Route 75 in Stephenson County, police said. Jones-Story was outdoor of her squad vehicle when she changed into struck and fatally wounded while another semi-truck hit her squad vehicle, and the semi she was turning into, police said. Both cars caught fire.
Jones-Story’s death comes days after Governor JB Pritzker announced renewed efforts to put into effect Scott’s Law in response to the number of injuries injuring country troopers. The law calls for drivers to gradually slow down and move over for emergency vehicles. The regulation, enacted in 2002, turned into named after Lieutenant Scott Gillen, a Chicago firefighter, who was struck and killed by an intoxicated driver while helping at a crash on the Dan Ryan Expressway.
“No driving force desires to get to their destination so quickly that they wish to position a trooper’s life at risk,” Pritzker said for the duration of a press conference about the law on Monday. Jones-Story’s loss of life also falls at the 6th anniversary of the death of any other officer, Trooper James Sauter, who was killed on the tri-state near Northbrook in 2013 while a truck motive force fell asleep at the wheel. That motive force was sentenced to 2 years in jail.
Thursday’s crash provides an alarming trend with a minimum of 15 state troopers being hit along Illinois roads up to now in 2019 – a number that is almost double the total of 8 soldiers struck in all of 2018. “Today is a darkish day for the Illinois State Police’s own family,” said Brendan Kelly, acting director of the Illinois State Police. “How often does this show manifest? How many more ought to be harmed or killed? When’s sufficient enough?” The motive force of the automobile that struck Jones-Story has been noted with a violation of Scott’s Law and fallacious lane usage, police stated.
“The men and women of this branch, specifically the soldiers and co-workers of trooper Jones-Story, are unhappy, hurting, and they’re irritated,” Kelly said. At the crash scene, which is set two hours west of Chicago, country soldiers gave Jones-Story, a 12-12 months veteran of the ISP, one final salute. ISP additionally shared statistics on how to make donations to Jones-Story’s own family. Donations can be made at the Illinois State Police Heritage Foundation’s website. If donating online, please note “Trooper Brook Jones-Story Memorial Fund” in the feedback section.
