PA State Trooper, Based In Montco, Dies On Duty In Bucks County

A Pennsylvania State Trooper died while on duty Saturday after suffering a "medical episode," authorities confirmed.

Trooper Donald C. Brackett, 58, who was based out of Troop T in King of Prussia, was on patrol on I-276 in Bucks County on Saturday when the incident occurred.

Brackett had not answered recent radio transmissions, state police said, so they dispatched troopers to investigate.

Brackett was found outside of his patrol vehicle, near mile marker 351.9, authorities said. He was unresponsive.

Officers began CPR, and medical teams immediately transported him to Jefferson Torresdale Hospital in Philadelphia. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The nature of the medical episode is not yet clear.

"All personnel of the Pennsylvania State Police are deeply affected by this loss," Lieutenant Colonel Robert Evanchick, Acting Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner, said in a statement. "Our thoughts are with Trooper Brackett's family and friends as they mourn his sudden passing."

Brackett, a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, had served the State Police since Oct. 2001.