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Woman charged with murder in crash that killed Michigan State Police trooper

The woman is suspected of DUI and had a prior conviction, police said

trooper caleb starr-1.jpg

Trooper Caleb Starr died July 31 three weeks after sustaining injuries in a crash with a suspected drunk driver in Ionia County, Michigan.

Photo/Michigan State Police

By John Agar
MLive.com, Walker, Mich.

IONIA COUNTY, Mich. — A Utah woman is charged with second-degree murder in an alleged drunken-driving crash that killed a Michigan State Police trooper.

Trooper Caleb Starr, 33, assigned to the Lakeview post, died Friday, July 31, of injuries sustained in a July 10 crash near Saranac.

State police announced that the other driver, a 28-year-old woman, was arrested Monday, Aug. 3, at a residence in Ionia. Her name was withheld pending arraignment in Ionia County District Court.

She is charged with second-degree murder, operating with a high blood-alcohol content with a prior conviction, operating while license is suspended, revoked or denied, causing death, and operating while intoxicated.

The crash happened around 10 p.m.

The woman was driving east on Grand River Avenue, west of Nash Highway, when her vehicle crossed the center line and struck Starr’s westbound patrol vehicle head-on, state police said.

The woman was also seriously injured, police said.

Starr lived in Mason with his wife, Rachael, and their girls, ages 5 and 2. A GoFundMe page was established to help his family.

Starr joined state police in September 2018. Funeral services have not yet been finalized.

©2020 MLive.com, Walker, Mich.

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