Roll of Honor
Incident
Trooper James Sauter was killed when a semi-trailer truck struck his cruiser on I-294, south of Willow Road, shortly after 11:00 p.m.
He was stopped in the left shoulder of the south-bound lanes when the semi rear-ended his cruiser, causing both vehicles to burst into flames. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
On January 22nd, 2016, the tractor trailer driver was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to several felony commercial vehicle violations in connection to the crash.
Trooper Sauter had served with the Illinois State Police for five years.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife, parents, and brother.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-IL-1F748AB0- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Trooper Sauter gave the Illinois State Police 4 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of Illinois. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Trooper Sauter.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Trooper James Michael Sauter is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In IL, 354 of 1,318 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 26.9% of this state's fallen. That is 4.1 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Illinois State Police, 49 of 67 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 73.1% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. James Michael Sauter's cause is highlighted.
How James Michael Sauter Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. James Michael Sauter is highlighted in Mar.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
66 officers from Illinois State Police are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
