STRAFFORD, MO. -- A Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper died Wednesday morning after he was hit by a vehicle on Interstate 44 near Strafford, patrol spokesman Capt. Chris Ricks said.
The vehicle struck Cpl. John Sampietro Jr. while he was doing an accident reconstruction report at the scene of a Monday night crash that killed two adults and two children from Indianapolis, the patrol said.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol identified Monday's victims as Michael Galbreath, 38; Yulanda Parker, 36; and Parker's two children, Nicholas Malone and Julissa Malone.
They were in a car that was hit by a tractor-trailer that crossed the median on I-44 in the southwestern part of the state.
Sampietro was taken to Cox South Hospital in Springfield, where he died.
The patrol said the Memphis, Tenn., native graduated from high school in Sikeston and joined the patrol in January 1992. He leaves behind a wife, who is a radio operator for the patrol, and two young sons.
Sampietro is the third Missouri patrol member to die in the line of duty this year, the patrol said.
Sad Story..