Trooper James R. Gross, 27, was shot and killed on January 19, 1996, while on duty with the Ohio State Highway Patrol in Ashland, Ohio. He had been responding to a report of an erratic driver on Interstate 71 when he approached the vehicle and was shot twice by the driver. Gross had served with the Highway Patrol for two years and was survived by his wife.

The suspect, Maxwell D. White Jr., 30, had reportedly shot his mother in the foot earlier that day and was pursued for 29 miles before crashing into an embankment and being apprehended. White was convicted of capital murder and initially received a death sentence that was later commuted to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for 30 years. A portion of Interstate 71 in Ashland County was dedicated and renamed the James R. Gross Memorial Highway in his honor.

Does anyone have recollections of Trooper Gross or information about the events that day that could add detail to the record?