Trooper Robert Gillespie was killed in a two-vehicle accident while rushing to a call for assistance near Mitchell.

   While traveling with his emergency lights on about five miles south of Bedford, he was forced to leave the road when a pickup truck slowed in front of him.

   Leaving the highway to avoid the truck, Trooper Gillespie swerved back onto the highway to avoid another car in his path and was struck by a third car.

   Trooper Gillespie, from Bedford, was assigned to the Seymour post. He was survived by his wife, four sons and two daughters. One of his 13 grandchildren serves as a trooper with the Indiana State Police.

   In 1959, he was awarded the agency's Gold Star Award for Valor when, in spite of being shot twice, he continued to pursue a wanted couple who had fired at him at the Avoca Post Office.