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Mich. trooper dies 3 weeks after being struck by suspected drunk driver

Caleb Starr, 33, is survived by his wife and two young daughters

Caleb Starr.jpg

Caleb Starr joined the state police in September 2018.

Photo/ODMP

Duty Death: Caleb Starr - [Ionia County]

End of Service: 31/07/2020

By John Tunison
MLive.com

IONIA COUNTY, Mich. -- A 33-year-old state police trooper critically injured in a July 10 head-on crash near Saranac has died.

State police late Friday, July 31, said that Trooper Caleb Starr had died at Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital.

He was critically injured when a vehicle headed east on Grand River Avenue, west of Nash Highway, crossed the center line and collided with Starr’s westbound cruiser. The crash happened about 10 p.m.

About a week after the crash, police said they believed alcohol was a contributing factor on the part of the other driver, a Utah woman who also was critically injured.

Starr is survived by his wife, Rachael, and their two daughters, ages 5 and 2. The family lives in Mason.

A GoFundMe page established to help the Starr family had raised almost $47,000 by Thursday night.

“The Michigan State Police mourns the loss of not just a trooper, but a husband, father and dedicated public servant who had so much left to give in a life that was cut far too short,” said Col. Joe Gasper, director of the MSP, in a written statement.

Starr joined the state police in September 2018 and was assigned to the Lakeview post.