TIGERTOWN, Texas – Authorities say a state trooper has died on patrol after crashing his car into a tree in North Texas.
Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Tom Vinger said Sunday that Trooper Jeffrey Nichols is the first state trooper to die on duty in 2016. The department says the 27-year-old trooper lost control of his patrol car late Saturday night in rural Lamar County and died at the scene.
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No other vehicles were involved and the exact cause of the crash is still under investigation.
Nichols joined DPS in 2011 and was stationed in the town of Paris, which is about 100 miles north of Dallas.
DPS Director Steve McCraw says the department's thoughts and prayers are with Nichols' family.