LIGONIER, Pa. (AP) - The Latest on a collision between a state police patrol vehicle and a garbage truck that killed a state trooper (all times local):
12:10 p.m.
The Pennsylvania state trooper killed when his patrol vehicle collided with a garbage truck is being described as a charismatic man with a big heart and personality.
State police say 26-year-old Trooper Michael Stewart was driving with a partner on Route 711, just outside Ligonier, when the collision occurred early Friday.
A spokesman says Stewart’s partner suffered a concussion, and the garbage truck driver wasn’t hurt.
Spokesman Stephen Limani described Stewart as a great trooper and “a big man with an even bigger heart.” He says Stewart was “extremely fun to be around.”
Limani says investigators are examining the two vehicles, working to reconstruct the collision and seeking any video from a nearby gas station.
He says it’s too early in the investigation to assign fault for the crash.
___
9:40 a.m.
A Pennsylvania state trooper is dead and another trooper is injured after their patrol vehicle and a garbage truck crashed in western Pennsylvania.
Authorities say 26-year-old Trooper Michael Stewart and a partner were traveling early Friday on Route 711 outside Ligonier, about 51 miles (about 82 kilometers) southeast of Pittsburgh, when the crash occurred.
Authorities say Stewart was killed. The other trooper’s injuries are not considered life-threatening. The condition of the truck driver wasn’t immediately known.
Stewart enlisted in the state police in January 2014. He’s the 98th member of the force to be killed in the line of duty.
The investigation is ongoing.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.