Illinois State Police trooper killed in Champaign County crash

A Champaign County woman was ticketed in connection with a crash that claimed the life of an Illinois State Police trooper on Friday afternoon.

Corey S. Thompsen, 28, was working a traffic enforcement detail on his state police motorcycle on Friday at about 3:42 p.m. in Champaign County. The ISP said that the crash occurred after a truck entered the intersection and struck Thompsen, who died from his injuries at a local hospital less than an hour later.

The driver of the truck, Helen Torres, 32, of Thomasboro, was ticketed for failure to yield right of way at a stop intersection and no valid driver’s license. Secretary of State records show Torres was issued a state identification card in February 2024, but no record of her ever having an Illinois driver’s license was on file.

“Corey’s family is hurting badly today. This is the first, and I hope the last, trooper who I personally administered the oath of an ISP officer to that I’ve lost in the line of duty,” ISP Director Brendan Kelly said in a statement. “The first and, I hope, the last trooper who I’ve seen at the beginning of their watch and the end of their watch. I ask for your thoughts, your love and prayers and goodwill for his family and the Illinois State Police family.”

Gov. JB Pritzker ordered flags in Illinois to fly at half-staff in honor of Thompsen.

Thompsen served with ISP for almosst five years, assigned to the special operations group and based at Troop 7 in Pesotum. He is survived by his wife and parents. Funeral arrangements are pending.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of newspapers, radio and TV stations statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial Association.