Today the Indiana State Police remember the loss of Trooper Jason Beal who died on January 15, 2000.
Trooper Beal died three days after being struck by a vehicle. Beal was assisting a tow truck driver who was removing a vehicle from a ditch on State Road 14 in Kosciusko County.
The incident occurred when another driver lost control of their vehicle in the icy conditions. The vehicle struck the tow truck and then Trooper Beal, causing severe internal injuries. He was transported to a local hospital where he remained for three days and passed away shortly after being taken off life support, one day before his 25th birthday.
Trooper Beal had served with the Indiana State Police for 13 months and was assigned to the Bremen Post. He had previously served as a jailer for the Shelby County Sheriff's Department and as a reserve police officer for the Shelbyville Police Department.
Trooper Beal was survived by his wife and a son who was born five months after his death, his parents, two brothers, three sisters, and three nephews. In 2010, a section of State Road 14 in southeastern Kosciusko County was dedicated the Jason E. Beal Memorial Highway in his honor.
Trooper Beal was the third of three troopers in 10 months to be killed in the line of duty from the 56th ISP Recruit Academy which graduated in December 1998.
