What to Know
- Trooper Stephen Rouse was killed when a van made a U-turn in front of his patrol car as Rouse passed through a toll plaza.
Over three decades after a Florida Highway Patrol trooper lost his life in a Broward County crash, a section of the road where he was killed has been renamed in his honor.
Members of Stephen G. Rouse’s family attended the ceremony Tuesday in Davie, where a two mile stretch of Alligator Alley was named for the 23-year-old trooper who died in March of 1987.
The honor was part of a Senate bill sponsored by Lauren Book, a Democrat from Plantation.
“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,” Book said.
Rouse, who had been a member of the department for less than a year and had been assigned to South Florida after graduation, was killed when a van made a U-turn in front of his patrol car as Rouse passed through a toll plaza while responding to a call.
According to a South Florida Sun-Sentinel story at the time of the incident, Rouse – who was a native of Pensacola and had been living in Sunrise with his wife of just three months at the time – was traveling west in the eastbound lanes while responding to a deadly crash in Collier County where a truck struck a tour bus carrying crew members for the 80s band Wang Chung, who had performed in Hollywood and were traveling to Tampa.
Rouse’s mother, sister and widow were among those in attendance.
