By Cliff Pinckard
cleveland.com
CANFIELD, Ohio — A State Highway Patrol trooper was killed Thursday when his cruiser was struck by a semi while he was assisting a disabled tractor-trailer on an Ohio highway.
The patrol announced in a news release that Trooper Nicholas Cayton, 40, was assisting a disabled tractor-trailer on Ohio 11 south of U.S. 224 in Canfield when the crash occurred.
“Today, the patrol lost a member of our family,” Patrol Superintendent Col. Charles Jones said in a statement. “This is a tragedy for the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Ohio Department of Public Safety. Our prayers go out to the Cayton family during this difficult time.”
The patrol tells WKYC Channel 3 that Cayton responded to the call of a disabled tractor-trailer just before noon. The 65-year-old driver told Cayton he had hit some debris in the road.
Cayton was sitting in his cruiser with the emergency lights on when it was hit from behind by a 2007 Mack Granite, WKYC reports. The impact pushed the cruiser forward, causing it to hit the tractor-trailer’s driver, who was standing beside his vehicle.
Cayton was pronounced dead at the scene, WKYC reports. “In service and sacrifice, Trooper Cayton honored the badge and fulfilled his sacred oath to the community,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in a statement. “My deepest condolences are with the family, friends and colleagues of this fallen hero.”
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has ordered U.S. and state flags be flown at half-staff on all public buildings and grounds throughout Mahoning County, the Statehouse, the Vern Riffe Center and the Rhodes State Office Tower until sunset on the day of Cayton’s funeral.
The driver of the tractor-trailer was flown to a hospital for treatment but no information was released on his condition.
The 35-year-old driver of the Mack Granite was not injured. The crash remains under investigation.
Canfield is located just south of Youngstown in Mahoning County.
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