BIRCH RUN, Mich. — Michigan State Police (MSP) identified the Trooper killed Wednesday evening during a traffic stop.
Trooper Joel Popp was investigating a suspected impaired driver on northbound I-75 near Birch Run when an 81-year-old man drove around the nearby curve, hitting Tpr. Popp and 2 cruisers.
Popp was taken to Hurley Medical Center where he passed away. The other driver was seriously hurt but is expected to survive.
“This is a message none of us wishes to deliver," Colonel James F Grady II, Director of the Michigan State Police, said. “I ask that you please keep his family, fellow troopers, and all whose lives he has touched in your thoughts.”
In a press release sent overnight, MSP thanked the many police and emergency responders who helped at the scene and as they continue supporting the department, as well as the staff and medical professionals at Hurley Medical Center for their care and compassion.
FOX 17 is told Trooper Popp is survived by his wife, Stephanie, and a young daughter. He was 39.
