A highway dedication in honor of the late Trooper Nicholas Dees will take place at 11:00 a.m. Thursday, August 11, at the Gordon Cooper Technology Center in Shawnee (Rooms Skylab I and II). DPS and OHP officials, state lawmakers and other dignitaries will take part in the event.
Memorial Highway signs are placed on I-40 at mile marker 190 in Pottawatomie County and mile marker 200 in Seminole County. Due to high traffic on I-40, no unveiling ceremony will be held at the site.
Dees was killed while on duty Jan. 31, 2015 on I-40 east of Shawnee. He and Trooper Keith Burch were investigating an incident involving a semi-truck when they were struck by a driver who was updating social media at the time of the crash. Burch was seriously injured. The driver was later sentenced to 12 years with the Department of Corrections, with five years to be served in prison and seven years on probation.
The Trooper Nicholas Dees and Trooper Keith Burch Act was signed into law by Gov. Mary Fallin in May of 2015, making texting while driving illegal in the state of Oklahoma.
