DAVIE, FLA. (WSVN) - Florida Highway Patrol officials held a ceremony to designate part of Interstate 75 in Davie to a trooper who lost his life decades ago.
Trooper Stephen Rouse was killed in the line of duty while responding to a fatal crash along Alligator Alley on Aug. 22, 1986. Officials said a van made an illegal U-turn in front of him, ending his life at just 23 years old.
A sign reading, “Trooper Stephen G. Rouse Memorial Highway” will be placed near the spot where the trooper was killed. The portion of the highway dedicated to him is between mile marker 24 and 26 in Broward County.
“You would think after 31 years it wouldn’t affect us this way, but it still does,” Rouse’s widow Carol Stratmeyer said.
For his mother, it was nothing short of a proud moment.
“Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart,” Dorothy Rouse said at the event.
The sign and dedicated road was made possible by the 2018 legislative session, Senate Bill 382 sponsored by Senator Lauren Brook.
“It is my honor to be part of renaming a portion of I-75 after Trooper Rouse, who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty,” said Sen. Book. “With this designation, his sacrifice will never be forgotten, and Floridians will be reminded of the great risks faced by our brave men and women in uniform every day.”
Officials said Trooper Rouse was stationed in Fort Lauderdale and served the residents of Florida for 11 months.
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