Share and Follow
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Michigan State Police has named the trooper who was killed after being hit by a car during a traffic stop in Saginaw County.
Trooper Joel Popp, 39, of the MSP Tri-City Post was killed in the line-duty Wednesday night, according to MSP.
Around 7 p.m., state police said Popp was at a traffic stop for a suspected impaired driver on northbound I-75 near Birch Run when he was hit by another vehicle. Popp was outside his patrol vehicle. He was taken to the hospital, where he later died.
The other driver, an 81-year-old man, was seriously injured and expected to survive, state police said.
Popp worked with MSP at the Tri-City Post since January 2020 after graduating from the Trooper Recruit School, according to a news release. He is survived by his wife and a young daughter.
State police said Popp is the 56th MSP trooper to be killed in the line of duty.