YOUNGSTOWN — With less than an hour left before the Celebration of Life of Trooper Nicholas Cayton begins in Youngstown State’s Beeghly Center, attendees have begun to enter the building, a large percentage of them in black law enforcement uniforms.

Cayton, 40, died when his cruiser was hit from behind by a truck Oct. 16 on state Route 11 in Canfield while Cayton was assisting another truck driver.

Col. Charles Jones, Ohio State Highway Patrol superintendent, gave prepared remarks to news reporters earlier today in a side room in Beeghly Center to talk about Cayton.

He called him “a devoted public servant, a courageous military veteran and a loving husband and father. His death in the line of duty is a profound tragedy that touches every member of the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the broader law enforcement community.

“Our hearts are with his wife, his two young children and all who knew him and loved him. We feel this loss deeply and personally,” he said.