A retired Mississippi Highway Patrol trooper was crushed by a vehicle and died Monday after stopping to help people involved in a crash.
Mike Griffin, the retired police officer, encountered a two-vehicle accident on a northern Mississippi highway, according to the state Department of Public Safety. A pickup truck traveling west collided with a sedan traveling in the same direction.
After the accident, Griffin, 62, of Ripley, Mississippi, stopped to check on the driver of the sedan when the car rolled over on top of him. He was later found by other officers and pronounced dead at the scene.
In a written statement, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said Griffin was a close family friend.
“Mike Griffin was family to Elee and me, and I am devastated by the news of the tragic accident that took his life this morning. But it doesn’t surprise me in the least that he was on the side of the road trying to help someone in need, because that was the kind of person he was,” Reeves said in a news release.
After retiring, he continued his service with the Department of Public Safety working as a liaison to law enforcement agencies throughout Mississippi. He is survived by his wife, Edna, and his daughter Olivia.
The Department of Public Safety did not mention the status of the drivers involved in the accident. The episode remains under investigation by the Mississippi Highway Patrol.
