12/9 DPS remembers fallen Trooper, Juan Cruz, who was killed on this date in 1998. Cruz and several other Troopers were blocking a traffic lane on I-10 in Tucson with their patrol vehicles while investigating an earlier collision. A vehicle driven by a 21-year-old woman crossed into the crash scene and struck the rear of Cruz’s vehicle. Cruz was seated in the vehicle and sustained fatal injuries. He had been with the agency for 17-years. The at-fault driver pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 11-years in prison.
