Carbondale Reporter

Rep. Dave Severin (R-Marion) took to the House floor recently to present a resolution to honor a fallen state trooper.

State Trooper Frank Dunbar died in an automobile accident in 1972.

“At the time Trooper Dunbar was the first state trooper in 26 years to be killed in the line of duty and the first to be killed in a patrol car accident in southern Illinois,” Severin said. “As a measure of our respect and admiration for Trooper Dunbar’s sacrifice, and as a token of our appreciation to his family members that live on to this day, and is a symbol of the respect we have for all Illinois state troopers for putting themselves in harm's way to protect Illinois citizens every single day, I ask for your yes vote in designating the stretch of highway north of Benton to Lake Benton Road on 37 as Trooper Frank Dunbar Memorial Highway. I was in eighth grade when this happened; his son was in sixth grade and was a good friend of mine.”

Officer Down Memorial Page wrote the young driver who had struck Dunbar was charged with reckless homicide, reckless driving, and improper lane usage.

Severin originally filed this resolution on Feb. 23. The bill was passed in a roll call vote of 102 yes and five abstentions on March 10.

Trooper Dunbar’s death occurred while he was driving southbound in his marked patrol car. A 19-year-old driver began to pass a vehicle heading north and tried to get back into the northbound lane when he saw Dunbar’s vehicle but wasn’t able to keep the car under control. According to the Officer Down Memorial Page, the accident left the top of the trooper’s vehicle completely sheared off.

Dunbar served as an Illinois state trooper from Oct. 28, 1957 to May 14, 1972.