Trooper Michael L. Newton

Badge #799

Trooper Michael L. Newton, 25, was killed in a traffic crash at 6:59 a.m. on May 22, 2003. Trooper Newton had stopped a vehicle on eastbound Interstate 70 near the 47-mile marker in Lafayette County. While Trooper Newton and the person he had stopped were sitting in his patrol car, they were struck by a pickup pulling a flat bed trailer. The force of the impact pushed the patrol car into the other vehicle. The person in the vehicle with Trooper Newton, who suffered serious injuries, was pulled from the patrol car by witnesses at the scene. Trooper Newton died at the scene.

Trooper Newton is survived by his wife and two young sons. He is the twenty-third officer of the Missouri State Highway Patrol to lose his life in the line of duty.

Since this tragic crash occurred, the person Trooper Newton was talking with at the time of the crash has become an advocate for traffic safety making appearances throughout Missouri asking people to "Move Over or Slow Down" when they approach and emergency vehicle with their lights activated.

As part of the Patrol's 75th Anniversary Celebration, employees of the Patrol have written in-depth articles about each of the officers that have been killed in the line of duty. These stories go more into the officer's life, who they were and their families, then just the circumstances of their death.

Read a more detailed article about Trooper Michael L. "Mike" Newton