Trooper Mark Toney died in an accident Tuesday.
A state trooper died Tuesday afternoon when his squad car rolled off a central Iowa highway and burst into flames. Iowa State Trooper Mark Toney was going north on Highway 65, just south of Indianola.
Witnesses said the squad car’s emergency lights were activated when the trooper’s car left the highway and landed in a field to the west of Highway 65.
Witnesses called 911 shortly after 4:30 and, according to a news release from the State Patrol, emergency responders found Toney’s car “fully engulfed in flames” when they arrived.
The fire was put out and the trooper was pronounced dead at the scene. Toney was 43 years old. He had been a trooper for 24 years with assignments in western and central Iowa.
The head of the state patrol issued a statement of condolence to the Toney family, and said the trooper had given his life “in service to Iowans.”