Trooper Michael Lynn Newton

Trooper Newton had stopped a vehicle on eastbound Interstate 70 near the 47-mile marker in Lafayette County. At approximately 7:00 a.m., while Trooper Newton and the motorist he had stopped were sitting in his patrol car, it was struck by a pickup pulling a flatbed trailer.

The force of the impact pushed the patrol car into the stopped vehicle.

The motorist in the vehicle with Trooper Newton suffered serious injuries and was pulled from the patrol car by witnesses. Trooper Newton died at the scene. He was the 23rd Missouri State Highway Patrol member to give his life in the line of duty.

The flatbed truck driver was arrested and charged with four misdemeanor offenses. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced on each of the four counts. His sentence was suspended, and he was placed on two years probation.