Michigan State Police officers in both peninsulas, and, indeed, police everywhere, are mourning one of their own today, with the news that a downstate trooper, injured some weeks ago in a crash with a drunk driver, passed away Friday.

Trooper Caleb Starr of the Lakeview post was struck by a drunk driver while on duty on July 10, an MSP press release detailed.

The July 10 crash occurred shortly before 10 p.m. in Boston Township in Ionia County. Starr was westbound on Grand River Avenue in his patrol vehicle when a vehicle traveling east, driven by a 28-year woman from Utah, crossed the centerline.

He was flown by medical helicopter to Spectrum Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids, where he was being treated until he passed away.

Starr, 33, joined the MSP in September 2018, as a member of the 135th Trooper Recruit School. He is survived by his wife, Rachael, who is 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,” Col. Joe Gasper, director of the MSP said in the press release.

MSP said charges are pending against the female driver, who is believed to still be hospitalized.

We know we speakfor the whole of Superiorland when we offer our sincerest condolences to Trooper Starr’s family, friends and colleagues.

Despite all that has been done in today’s society to stop it, drunk driving continues to kill people, including police officers.