Trooper Jason Beal died three days after being struck by a vehicle while assisting a tow truck driver who was removing a vehicle from a ditch on State Road 14 west of County Road 700 East in Kosciusko County.

   As a westbound vehicle entered the area and attempted to slow down, the 22-year-old female driver lost control of the vehicle in the icy conditions. Her vehicle struck the tow truck and then Trooper Beal, causing severe internal injuries.

   He was transported to Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne where he remained for three days and passed away after being taken off life support, one day before his 25th birthday.

   Trooper Beal, from Shelbyville, was assigned to the Bremen post. He had previously served as a jailer for the Shelby County Sheriff's Department and as a reserve police officer for the Shelbyville Police Department. Trooper Beal was survived by his wife, a son who was born five months after his death, parents, two brothers and three sisters.

   Trooper Beal was the third of three troopers within 11 months to be killed in the line of duty from the 56th ISP Recruit Academy, which graduated in December 1998.