A Michigan State Police trooper is dead after being hit by a car during a traffic stop Wednesday night.

Authorities identified the trooper as 39-year-old Trooper Joel Popp, who joined the state police in January 2020.

According to a press release from the Michigan State Police, Popp was among several troopers who were investigating a suspected impaired driver on northbound I-75 near Birch Run in a curved lane of travel when another motorist struck two patrol cars and Popp.

The 39-year-old trooper was standing outside his vehicle at the time. Popp was rushed to a nearby hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries.

The driver, 81, suffered serious injuries but is expected to survive.

“I ask that you please keep his family, fellow troopers and all whose lives he has touched in your thoughts,” Col. James F. Grady II, director of the MSP, said in a statement.

Popp is survived by his wife and young daughter.

Please join us in praying for Trooper Joel Popp’s loved ones during this difficult time.