Corporal John A. "Jay" Sampietro Jr.

Badge #584

Corporal John A. "Jay" Sampietro Jr, was killed in the line of duty today, August 17, 2005. Corporal Sampietro was struck by a vehicle on Interstate 44 in Webster County, near Strafford, MO. He was taken to Cox South Hospital in Springfield, MO, where he succumbed to his injuries. At the time he was struck, Corporal Sampietro was directing traffic while assisting the Patrol’s Major Crash Investigation Team at the site of an earlier fatal traffic crash.

Corporal Sampietro graduated from Sikeston Senior High School in Sikeston, MO, in 1987. He was appointed to the Patrol in January 1992, and was originally assigned to Troop E, Poplar Bluff. In March 2003, he transferred to Troop D, Springfield. In addition to his road duties, Corporal Sampietro was a pilot assigned to Troop D Headquarters.

Corporal Sampietro leaves behind a wife and two young sons, ages 4, and 10 months. He is the 26th member of the Patrol to make the ultimate sacrifice while serving and protecting the citizens of Missouri. Corporal Sampietro is the third member of the Patrol to die in the line of duty in 2005.

The driver of the vehicle which struck Corporal Sampietro, Wendye Chesher, 29, of Arkoma, OK, pled guilty to a Class D felony of second-degree involuntary manslaughter. She was sentenced to five years supervised probation and seven days of shock incarceration in the Webster County Jail. Chesher was also ordered to cooperate fully with the Missouri State Highway Patrol “if and when they decide to make any education video regarding the slow down move over law”.

As part of the Patrol's 75th Anniversary Celebration, employees of the Patrol have written in-depth articles about each of the officers that have been killed in the line of duty. These stories go more into the officer's life, who they were and their families, then just the circumstances of their death.

Read a more detailed article about Corporal John A. "Jay" Sampietro Jr.