Troop F - August 8, 1980
Trooper James A. Kelly, Jr. was killed in a traffic accident on August 8, 1980. He was 31 years old.
Trooper Kelly was critically injured when a drunk driver swerved across Route 9W in the town of Highlands and struck his patrol car head-on.
Trooper Kelly served in the U.S. Navy before joining the New York City Police Department where he worked in the 40th Precinct in the South Bronx from 1973 to 1977. He joined the State Police in September 1977 and was assigned to the Newburgh barracks at the time of his death.