The incident occurred at approximately 11:52 a.m. Trooper Cayton had responded to the northbound lanes of Route 11, just south of U.S. 224, where a 2024 Kenworth semi-tractor was stopped in the right lane. The driver, Nelson De Jesus Herrera Vasquez, 65, of Florida, had reportedly pulled over after his vehicle struck an object in the roadway.
While the Trooper was sitting in his marked patrol car with emergency lights activated, a second vehicle—a 2007 Mack Granite driven by Ryan Rach, 35, of Canfield—crashed into the back of the cruiser.
The force of the impact pushed the patrol car forward, causing it to strike the rear of the disabled semi-trailer and also hit Vasquez, who was standing outside his vehicle.
Trooper Cayton was pronounced dead at the scene. Vasquez was seriously injured and was transported by life-flight to a nearby hospital for treatment. The driver of the Mack Granite, Rach, was uninjured in the crash.
Multiple agencies, including the Canfield, Boardman Township, and Ellsworth Fire Departments, along with the Canfield Police Department, Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office, Ohio EPA, and ODOT, assisted at the scene.
The fatal crash remains under investigation.