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Colorado State Patrol Remembers Trooper Taylor Thyfault, 4 Years Later

(CBS4) - Thursday marks four years since the death of Trooper Taylor Thyfault. A driver fatally struck the 21-year-old on May 23, 2015, while he was eluding police on Highway 66 near Longmont. Thyfault was in the midst of training with the Colorado State Patrol at the time and was investigating a car crash.

Taylor Thyfault
(credit: Colorado State Patrol)

Trooper Clinton Rushing was also hit and nearly killed and suffered injuries including a fractured pelvis.

The Colorado State Patrol authored a Facebook post on Thursday remembering Thyfault's service and described Thyfault's actions just before he died in the following way:

Shortly after 8:00 a.m., another State Trooper attempted to stop a vehicle in the area of I-25 and Colorado Highway 66, approximately 3 miles from the crash scene. The suspect eluded the trooper and drove towards the crash scene where Trooper Rushing was waiting to deploy stop sticks. The suspect hit Trooper Rushing and Trooper Thyfault while eluding the pursuing trooper. Seconds before he was struck, Trooper Thyfault instructed a tow truck driver to move and take cover to avoid being hit by the fleeing suspect.

The driver responsible for Thyfault's death -- Christopher Gebers -- is serving a life sentence.

Thyfault had only joined the State Patrol two months before he was killed.

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