When Illinois State Police Trooper Brooke Jones-Story ordered a tractor-trailer to pull over for an inspection on the morning of March 28, it appeared like any other day and just another obligation assignment for the married, 12-year veteran.
Sadly, it would be anything but that.
The trucker did as informed on Route 20 near Route 75 in Freeport, IL. Jones-Story, 34, pulled up behind the rig in her cruiser, got out, and commenced to work. About an hour later, another tractor-trailer ran off the street, striking the squad car, the officer, and the truck… is inspected. Jones-Story was killed.
042219-Scotts-Law-Brooke-jones-story. The man behind the wheel of the truck causing the coincidence, Craig W. Dittmar, 55, of Stockton, IL, would be charged with two counts of reckless murder, each elegance 2 years in prison, and one remember of operating a motor car at the same time while fatigued, causing loss of life, a class three felony.
Incredibly, it becomes the fifteenth time in 2019 on my own that an Illinois State Police trooper or police squad car is struck in violation of Scott’s Law, which requires drivers to sluggish down and pass over one lane, if possible, when approaching an emergency vehicle stopped on the roadway with flashing lights activated.
Known nationally because of the Move Over Law, in Illinois, it’s called Scott’s Law, a tribute to Lt. Scott Gillen, a Chicago firefighter who was hit and killed 19 years in the past by a drunk driver who didn’t follow over, so Gillen should do his job.
More Illinois country soldiers have been injured in the first three months of 2019 than in all three previous years.
“How normally does this ought to appear? How many extra have to be harmed or killed? When is enough?” requested an aggrieved Illinois State Police Acting Director Brendan F. Kelly at a press conference, quickly after the death of Jones-Story. “When are greater humans going to start giving a damn and just doing the right thing?
“Today is a darkish day for the Illinois State Police family. This is the sixth anniversary of the death of some other trooper, and now any other courageous soul, Trooper Brooke Jones-Story, has made the remaining sacrifice for the people of this state.”
Family releases announcement
The family of Jones-Story released an announcement days later:
“The family of Trooper Brooke Jones-Story celebrates a sturdy female who devoted her existence to the provider and protection of others. Brooke is a daughter, sister, wife, stepparent, and cherished friend.
042219-Scotts-Law-signal-sufficient-is-sufficient.Png“Growing up in rural Illinois, Brooke loved her family and her excessive faculty and university volleyball groups. Brooke usually had a passion for the provider and dedicated herself to becoming a trooper. It became through that function that she won her family in blue, met her husband, and linked her private and professional lives.
“When Brooke wasn’t running, she could be observed operating with rescue animals on her farm, cheering for the Cubs, operating out with her CrossFit circle of relatives, and watching all the Disney movies she wanted to locate.
“This is a female who embraced life and cherished spending time with her loved family and buddies. A dedicated, courageous, loving, and passionate officer, and absolutely the first-rate character you can meet. Brooke could be sorely neglected and is loved and celebrated for lifestyles devoted to her circle of relatives and the service of others.”
