On September 29, 2005, 46-year-old Newtown Borough Police Department officer Brian Steven Gregg was shot and killed while guarding a drunk-driving suspect at St. Mary’s Medical Center. Officer Gregg was struck in the chest and, after falling to the ground, was shot in the head. The suspect also shot the partner in the chest and wounded a hospital technician before fleeing; he was found about an hour later hiding in a car in the hospital parking garage and taken into custody.

The suspect was charged with capital murder and two counts of attempted murder; on November 17, 2006, he was found guilty and sentenced to death. Gregg had recently moved from part-time to full-time duty and is survived by his wife and 4-year-old son. The Newton Bypass was renamed Officer Gregg Memorial Bypass in April 2014.