CARY, N.C. (WPTF) – The Triangle community honored the life and legacy of fallen Trooper Steven J. Perry on Wednesday, March 11th, at The Shepherd’s Church in Cary.
Col. Freddy Johnson Jr., State Highway Patrol Commander, spoke highly of his coworker. “Today, we gather with heavy hearts to honor the life, service, and sacrifice of Trooper Steven Perry – a son, a father, a teammate, a brother in uniform, and a guardian of the people in North Carolina,” he said.
Perry was a Durham native who played football for North Carolina Central University from 2014 to 2017. He served Durham County as a trooper for nearly seven years. He leaves behind his fiancée and a nine-month-old baby. Trooper Logan Coats, who worked with Perry, had a message for Perry’s young daughter.
“And to sweet little Sasha, though you are only nine months old, you will grow up knowing your dad was a hero in every sense of the word,” he said. “Not just because of the badge on his chest, but because of the man he was.”
A memorial of flowers and a flag laid over a patrol car was placed outside the Cary church for those wishing to formally remember the trooper and father.
Perry was killed in a crash on the Durham Freeway when a wrong-way driver, Melshawn Moore, slammed into Perry’s vehicle. They both died.
Investigators believe Moore, who has three prior DWI convictions, was intoxicated at the time.