State police trooper dies weeks after struck by suspected drunk driver

A Michigan State Police trooper has died three weeks after he was struck by a suspected drunk driver while on duty, officials announced Friday night.

Trooper Caleb Starr served Lakeview Post, north of Grand Rapids. The 33-year-old joined MSP in September 2018 as a member of the 135th Trooper Recruit School.

He is the 54th state police trooper to die in the line of duty, MSP said on Twitter.

Starr is survived by his wife, Rachael, a civilian member of the MSP, and their two young daughters.

“The Michigan State Police mourns the loss of not just a trooper, but a husband, father and dedicated public servant who had so much left to give in a life that was cut far too short,” said Col. Joe Gasper, director of the MSP.

Starr was driving his patrol vehicle west on Grand River Avenue in Ionia County's Boston Township at about 10 p.m. July 10 when a vehicle traveling east crossed the center line, investigators said.

The trooper had been flown by medical helicopter to Spectrum Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids for treatment. He died there Friday evening.

Charges are pending against the female driver, a 28-year woman from Utah who also was hospitalized after the crash, state police said.