A State Highway Patrol processional carries Master Trooper Steven J. Perry March 2026.

Two North Carolina State Highway Patrol troopers died on our roads in the last few months, and we just want to take a few moments to remember them.

Master Trooper Stien Davis Jr. died February 22 in a single car wreck just after midnight when his patrol car lost control, went off the road and flipped along a swampy section of NC 130. The reason may never be known.

Davis was 30 and left behind a fiancée and a 1-year-old son.

Hundreds attended the funeral. Davis served about 9 years in the State Highway Patrol, largely serving his native Robeson County. Davis’ fiancée, Chiara Strickland, spoke to WECT, one of several news outlets that covered his funeral.

“He was not only the love of my life, but an incredible father who adored his child in the purest way,” she said. “The little family we created together was full of laughter, warmth, and love. He had a way of making our home feel safe and happy just by being in it.”

Master Troopers Steven J. Perry and Stien Davis Jr. gave their lives serving the public good.

Master Trooper Steven J. Perry died March 1 when a wrong-way driver with a history of DWI smashed into his patrol vehicle on NC 147.

Perry was also 30. He also left behind a fiancee, as well as a 9-month-old daughter. American flags draped bridges along the procession to his funeral.

Perry served the State Highway Patrol for nearly 7 years, assigned to Durham County. As a younger man he was an offensive lineman for the NC Central University football team, including the team that won the 2016 MEAC Championship.

His uncle, Steven Hamilton, said Perry was “huge for Durham,” mentoring young people without seeking praise. He owned a powerlifting gym and a landscaping business, loved the outdoors and loved fishing, according to his obituary, which also says he “brought energy, positivity, and purpose to every space he entered.

“We are devastated by the loss of these two young troopers, not just because of the fine members of our Patrol Family that they were proving to be, but because of the great men they were for their families and communities,” Col. Freddy Johnson Jr., commander of the State Highway Patrol, said.

“Their legacies and the lifesaving mission that they were carrying out will live on in those that knew and loved them greatly.”

Check out this awesome bear using the Groundhog Creek culvert to cross under Interstate 40 in Western NC!

Now think about how you’re NOT seeing that bear on the highway at 70 mph.

Every 26 seconds a driver hits an animal in the United States. This kills millions of large animals every year, and hundreds of humans. And all these crash costs add up to $12 billion in the U.S., every year.

Highways are one of the world’s greatest barriers to wildlife movement, and 26,000 vehicles every day pass through the Pigeon River Gorge, fragmenting a crucial habitat.

All this is why Safe Passage supports more funding for safe crossings. They work! Wildlife crossing structures have been shown to reduce motorist collisions involving wildlife by up to 97%.

Think of that bear, and please take the Safe Passage pledge. And tell your lawmakers: Fund wildlife crossings!

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