1968-1996
Sandra M. Wagner, 28, is the first female State Trooper to die in the line of duty. She was killed on April 5, 1996, when she pulled her police vehicle onto the path of a tractor-trailer on Delaware Route 404 in Bridgeville, apparently intent on stopping a speeding motorist. Trooper Wagner was just two hours into her third solo shift. Her Troop Commander at Troop 5, Bridgeville, spoke in measured tones, "Self motivated, organized, prepared, intelligent, all of the traits of a good cop, she had ‘em all. Trooper Wagner wasn't going to be a good trooper, she was a good trooper." Governor Thomas Carper said, in a statement issued from his office, "Only a few months ago, I shook her hand at (recruit) graduation…She was filled with the determination and hope of a new state police officer…Little did she know that she would end up sacrificing her life… I want to extend my heartfelt sympathy to her family, friends, and colleagues." Trooper Sandra Wagner once said of herself, "I knew I always wanted to do something to help people and society, but I wasn't sure what it was, but I did know that I did not want to sit at a desk the rest of my life." As a member of the Delaware State Police she was about to fulfill that prophecy, unfortunately it was cut short. She was laid to rest for eternity on April 10, 1996 at the All Saints Cemetery. "Sandi" Wagner is survived by her mother, Patricia; her father and stepmother, Joseph and Betty Wagner; sisters, Candace and Kristen; stepsister and stepbrother, Denise and Dennis Risner; paternal grandmothers, Ruth Bruce and Myra Wagner; and maternal grandparents, Milton and Helen Znovena. Trooper Thomas Carver, a classmate, synopsized the tragedy stating, "There's a feeling of being invulnerable, feeling on top of the world. This really has brought us all right back to earth real quick."
Sandra M. Wagner, 28, is the first female State Trooper to die in the line of duty. She was killed on April 5, 1996, when she pulled her police vehicle onto the path of a tractor-trailer on Delaware Route 404 in Bridgeville, apparently intent on stopping a speeding motorist. Trooper Wagner was just two hours into her third solo shift. Her Troop Commander at Troop 5, Bridgeville, spoke in measured tones, "Self motivated, organized, prepared, intelligent, all of the traits of a good cop, she had ‘em all. Trooper Wagner wasn't going to be a good trooper, she was a good trooper." Governor Thomas Carper said, in a statement issued from his office, "Only a few months ago, I shook her hand at (recruit) graduation…She was filled with the determination and hope of a new state police officer…Little did she know that she would end up sacrificing her life… I want to extend my heartfelt sympathy to her family, friends, and colleagues." Trooper Sandra Wagner once said of herself, "I knew I always wanted to do something to help people and society, but I wasn't sure what it was, but I did know that I did not want to sit at a desk the rest of my life." As a member of the Delaware State Police she was about to fulfill that prophecy, unfortunately it was cut short. She was laid to rest for eternity on April 10, 1996 at the All Saints Cemetery. "Sandi" Wagner is survived by her mother, Patricia; her father and stepmother, Joseph and Betty Wagner; sisters, Candace and Kristen; stepsister and stepbrother, Denise and Dennis Risner; paternal grandmothers, Ruth Bruce and Myra Wagner; and maternal grandparents, Milton and Helen Znovena. Trooper Thomas Carver, a classmate, synopsized the tragedy stating, "There's a feeling of being invulnerable, feeling on top of the world. This really has brought us all right back to earth real quick."
1968-1996
Sandra M. Wagner, 28, is the first female State Trooper to die in the line of duty. She was killed on April 5, 1996, when she pulled her police vehicle onto the path of a tractor-trailer on Delaware Route 404 in Bridgeville, apparently intent on stopping a speeding motorist. Trooper Wagner was just two hours into her third solo shift. Her Troop Commander at Troop 5, Bridgeville, spoke in measured tones, "Self motivated, organized, prepared, intelligent, all of the traits of a good cop, she had ‘em all. Trooper Wagner wasn't going to be a good trooper, she was a good trooper." Governor Thomas Carper said, in a statement issued from his office, "Only a few months ago, I shook her hand at (recruit) graduation…She was filled with the determination and hope of a new state police officer…Little did she know that she would end up sacrificing her life… I want to extend my heartfelt sympathy to her family, friends, and colleagues." Trooper Sandra Wagner once said of herself, "I knew I always wanted to do something to help people and society, but I wasn't sure what it was, but I did know that I did not want to sit at a desk the rest of my life." As a member of the Delaware State Police she was about to fulfill that prophecy, unfortunately it was cut short. She was laid to rest for eternity on April 10, 1996 at the All Saints Cemetery. "Sandi" Wagner is survived by her mother, Patricia; her father and stepmother, Joseph and Betty Wagner; sisters, Candace and Kristen; stepsister and stepbrother, Denise and Dennis Risner; paternal grandmothers, Ruth Bruce and Myra Wagner; and maternal grandparents, Milton and Helen Znovena. Trooper Thomas Carver, a classmate, synopsized the tragedy stating, "There's a feeling of being invulnerable, feeling on top of the world. This really has brought us all right back to earth real quick."
Sandra M. Wagner, 28, is the first female State Trooper to die in the line of duty. She was killed on April 5, 1996, when she pulled her police vehicle onto the path of a tractor-trailer on Delaware Route 404 in Bridgeville, apparently intent on stopping a speeding motorist. Trooper Wagner was just two hours into her third solo shift. Her Troop Commander at Troop 5, Bridgeville, spoke in measured tones, "Self motivated, organized, prepared, intelligent, all of the traits of a good cop, she had ‘em all. Trooper Wagner wasn't going to be a good trooper, she was a good trooper." Governor Thomas Carper said, in a statement issued from his office, "Only a few months ago, I shook her hand at (recruit) graduation…She was filled with the determination and hope of a new state police officer…Little did she know that she would end up sacrificing her life… I want to extend my heartfelt sympathy to her family, friends, and colleagues." Trooper Sandra Wagner once said of herself, "I knew I always wanted to do something to help people and society, but I wasn't sure what it was, but I did know that I did not want to sit at a desk the rest of my life." As a member of the Delaware State Police she was about to fulfill that prophecy, unfortunately it was cut short. She was laid to rest for eternity on April 10, 1996 at the All Saints Cemetery. "Sandi" Wagner is survived by her mother, Patricia; her father and stepmother, Joseph and Betty Wagner; sisters, Candace and Kristen; stepsister and stepbrother, Denise and Dennis Risner; paternal grandmothers, Ruth Bruce and Myra Wagner; and maternal grandparents, Milton and Helen Znovena. Trooper Thomas Carver, a classmate, synopsized the tragedy stating, "There's a feeling of being invulnerable, feeling on top of the world. This really has brought us all right back to earth real quick."
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