ORLANDO, Fla. — A 31-year-old Florida Highway Patrol trooper died Friday morning in a crash on State Road 408 in Orlando, officials said.
Investigators said FHP Trooper Tracy Vickers crashed into an empty construction truck parked on the road shoulder shortly before 6 a.m. in the eastbound lanes of SR 408 near the South Conway Road exit.
Troopers said the truck was used in overnight construction.
He served as a field training officer and served on FHP's Quick Response Force, FHP Col. Gene Spaulding said during a Friday news conference.
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Vickers had served as a trooper for four years and previously served in the U.S. Navy, officials said.
"He was a mentor," he said.
Spaulding said Vickers was ending his shift and was on his way home when he crashed.
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Vickers is the 48th FHP trooper to die in the line of duty, Spaulding said.
The crash remains under investigation.
[ Watch Channel 9 Eyewitness News for live updates on this developing story. ]
Read the agency's full statement below:
"The entire FLHSMV family and his FHP brothers and sisters are heartbroken today as we mourn the loss of Trooper Tracy Vickers. Trooper Vickers was a leader within the patrol and his troop and served as a Field Training Officer, training and mentoring new troopers. He served central Florida and the state for just over 4 years, selflessly protecting Florida's citizens and visitors. Please keep his family in your prayers."
- FLHSMV Executive Director Terry L. Rhodes<br/> - FHP Colonel Gene Spaulding
Watch troopers salute Vickers as his body was escorted to the medical examiner's office: