Mo. Highway Patrol Trooper Dies In Fiery I-70 Accident

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Trooper Apparently Was Making Car Stop
May 22, 2003
KANSAS CITY, Mo. —

KMBC reported that the accident happened near Odessa around 6:30 a.m.

KMBC reported that Trooper Micheal Newton, 25, had stopped a car when his cruiser was apparently hit by another vehicle and it ignited.

Sgt John Hotz said that Newton and the driver he had stopped were sitting in his Crown Victoria patrol car when a one-ton pickup truck and trailer slammed into the trooper’s car, going at least 65 mph, KMBC’s Krista Tatschl reported. The patrol car burst into flames.

"It looks like the driver didn’t hit the brakes before impact," Hotz said.

Newton died in the blaze while the driver he had stopped escaped with the help of people near the highway. KMBC identified him as Michael Nolte, of Leawood, Kan. He has third-degree burns covering 40 percent of his body. Nolte is in stable condition.

Tatschl reported that LaFayette County’s prosecutor will decide whether to file charges against Paul Daniel of New Hampton, Mo., who was driving the pickup truck when it struck the trooper’s cruiser.

Newton had been with the Missouri Highway Patrol two years. He was transferring to Rolla, Mo., in September to be near his parents.