Michigan Trooper Dies After Crash While On Patrol

ROCKFORD, MI—A Michigan state trooper, who was to be married in two weeks, was killed in a traffic crash while on patrol on his motorcycle Wednesday in Plainfield Township, the state patrol reported. Trooper Timothy O’Neill, 28, had joined the Michigan State Police in 2014.

O’Neill was on patrol near the intersection of Wolverine Boulevard and Belding Road at about 7:45 a.m. Wednesday when he was involved in a crash with a pickup. No one else was injured in the crash.

Michigan State Police officers are investigating the crash, said Lt. Kevin Sweeney, spokesman for the agency. He expects a few days would be necessary to complete the investigation. (For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Detroit Patch, and click here to find your local Michigan Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Sweeney said the agency was not releasing the identity of the other driver involved in the crash nor provide specific details of what happened in the crash.

Col. Kriste Kibbey Etue, director of the Michigan State Police issued a statement on O’Neill’s death. “I ask that you please keep his family and friends in your thoughts and prayers in the difficult days ahead.”

O’Neill is survived by his mother, father, brother, sister and fiancé. He was set to be married on Oct. 7.

Image provided by the Michigan State Police