Part Of I-40 To Be Dedicated To OHP Trooper Killed In Crash

A part of Interstate 40 will be dedicated to an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper killed in a crash back in 2015.

According to the OHP, a highway dedication in honor of the late Trooper Nicholas Dees will take place at 11 a.m. Thursday, August 11, at Gordon Cooper Technology Center, 1 John C. Bruton Drive in Shawnee.

The memorial highway markers are located on I-40 at mile marker 190 in Pottawatomie County and mile marker 200 in Seminole County. However, due to high traffic on I-40, no unveiling ceremony will be held at the site.

Department of Public Safety (DPS) and OHP officials, state legislators and other dignitaries will take part in the event.

Dees was born Jan. 23, 1985, in Fairview. He graduated from Bridge Creek High School in 2003 and Southeastern Oklahoma State University in 2008. He was a member of the 61st OHP Academy, graduating in July of 2013. He was assigned to Troop D headquarters in McAlester.

Dees was killed while on duty January 31, 2015 on I-40 east of Shawnee. Dees and Trooper Keith Burch were investigating an incident involving a semi-truck when they were struck by a driver who was updating social media at the time of the crash. Burch was seriously injured. The driver was later sentenced to 12 years with the Department of Corrections, with five years to be served in prison and seven years on probation.

The Trooper Nicholas Dees and Trooper Keith Burch Act was signed into law by Gov. Mary Fallin in May of 2015, making texting while driving illegal in the state of Oklahoma.