A Missouri Highway Patrol Trooper has been killed in an accident west of Mexico.
Trooper James M. Bava, 25, died in the crash of his patrol car this morning on a county road. At 8:29 a.m. he was pursuing a motorcyclist that he had seen commit a traffic violation, according to Corporal Scott White.
“A few minutes later communication operators at Troop F headquarters in Jefferson City attempted to contact him by radio and did not receive a response. At 8:35 Troop F received a report of a Missouri State Highway Patrol vehicle crashed on Route FF. Emergency responders arrived on the scene and confirmed Trooper Bava had been killed in the crash.”
The patrol isn’t sure how the crash happened but is calling it a one-vehicle accident. Trooper Bava’s patrol car was equipped with a dash cam but the patrol said it doesn’t know yet if the video survived the crash.
Trooper Bava had been with the patrol since July, 2013. He is survived by his parents, two sisters, a brother, and a half-sister. He is from the St. Louis area.
Governor Jay Nixon has ordered that all flags at Patrol facilities be lowered to half-staff to honor Trooper Bava.
In a statement, Nixon said, “The death of Trooper Bava is a reminder of the dangers that the members of Missouri’s law enforcement community face each time they put on their uniforms, and how they willingly put themselves in harm’s way. We join his family, friends, and colleagues in mourning his death, and the flags at half-staff will honor Trooper Bava’s service and sacrifice.”
The Patrol says the investigation into the crash will continue through the weekend.