David Shawn Blanton Jr., 24, a member of the North Carolina Highway Patrol and the first enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to serve as a North Carolina State Trooper, was killed on June 17, 2008, in Canton, North Carolina. He was conducting a traffic stop on Interstate 40 when a struggle occurred and he was shot twice; one round struck an area not covered by his vest and proved fatal. The suspect, Edwardo Wong II, fled with Trooper Blanton’s service weapon but was taken into custody shortly after by Haywood County deputies and Canton officers.

Blanton left behind his wife, Michaela Layman Blanton, and their two-week-old son, Brendan Tye Blanton; the child later died in October 2008 at four months of age. Tributes include naming a bridge on Interstate 40 near Canton and a bridge over the Oconaluftee River in the Cherokee Reservation in his honor.

Does anyone have memories of Trooper Blanton or information about that night to share?