Trooper Lewis Phillips was killed in a two-vehicle accident near Springville while responding to assist another trooper who was pursuing a traffic violator.

   He was traveling westbound on U.S. 20 about one half-mile east of State Road 39 as he crested a hill. A semitrailer driver was making an illegal U-turn and blocking all four lanes of the roadway when Trooper Phillips struck the flatbed and was decapitated.

   The 27-year-old male truck driver was charged with involuntary manslaughter, disobeying a traffic control device and having an inadequate log book.

   Trooper Phillips, from Michigan City and killed five days before completing his status as a probationary trooper, was assigned to the Dunes Park post. He had previously served as a weighman in the Motor Carrier Division for 11 months.

   Trooper Phillips was single and survived by his parents and brother.