James R. Bailey, an Indiana State Trooper, was killed in the line of duty on a winter afternoon when he was helping other troopers deal with accidents caused by bad weather near the 326-mile marker south of Auburn. A news release said that Bailey, who was 50 years old, had worked for the Indiana State Police (ISP) for more than 15 years.
Around 4:30 p.m., when other officers joined a police chase on I-69 in DeKalb County, troopers were working at the scene of crashes caused by bad weather. When the suspect being chased crashed into Master Trooper Bailey, who was out of his car at the time, things went from bad to worse very quickly.
Bailey was taken to a hospital nearby, but he died there from his injuries. The whole state of Indiana was shocked and saddened by the news of his death. Bailey was a well-liked and respected member of the ISP family, and his dedication to public service was well known.
Terry Dewaine Sands II, who is 42 years old and from Marion, was taken into custody soon after the crash. Sands is being held in the DeKalb County Jail on an initial charge of resisting police, which led to the death of a police officer.
The ISP says that Sands was in a hit-and-run accident earlier that day and was trying to get away from the police when he hit Master Trooper Bailey. When the Indiana State Police heard that Bailey had died, they were all shocked. ISP Superintendent Doug Carter told Bailey’s family and coworkers, “This is a very sad day for the whole Indiana State Police family.”
Carter also promised that the ISP would pull together to help Bailey’s family through this hard time. Losing a police officer on the job is always a tragedy, but the circumstances of Master Trooper Bailey’s death were especially shocking.
The fact that he was helping with traffic problems caused by weather-related accidents when he was hit shows how dangerous it is for police officers to do their jobs every day. Bailey’s death was also a sad reminder of how important it is to make sure our roads and highways are safe.
The ISP and other law enforcement agencies work hard to keep our roads safe, but this shows that we all need to do our part to stop accidents and keep our neighborhoods safe.