Heartbreaking Details Emerge About Life of Trooper Frankie Williams

The death of New Jersey State trooper Frankie Williams Monday night is one of the saddest stories I've heard all year, and 2016 has certainly had its share of very sad news.

Williams, 31, was traveling south on Route 55 in Millville responding to a call when the driver of a Toyota Corolla crossed the center median and struck the trooper's car, police said.

The more we find out about this excellent young man and his promising future, the more difficult this tragedy is to process.

- Trooper Williams, who lived in Bargaintown, Egg Harbor Township, was newly married in September.

- Williams had been on the job for less than a year, having graduated from the State Police Academy in January.

- A 2009 graduate of of Atlantic Cape Community College in Mays Landing, where he had been featured on the cover of its Career Focus magazine, Williams graduated from Rutgers Camden in 2012 with a degree in criminal justice. He was taking master's degree courses.

- Frankie Williams, smart and articulate, had considered going to law school, but opted instead for a career of public service as a trooper.

- Williams made news last summer when he smashed a car window to save a poodle left inside a vehicle in sweltering conditions.

Funeral arrangements for trooper Williams have not yet been announced.