Det./Sgt. David W. Hubbard died as a result of injuries received in a car-train accident. He was assigned to the Special Investigation Unit which was involved in the surveillance of suspects believed to be responsible for a series of professional burglaries and other felonies in Saginaw County.
Sergeant Hubbard’s surveillance team was actively following a suspect on a dreary, rainy night on wet, slippery roads near Saginaw. Because of hazy, misty conditions which caused poor visibility, the team lost contact with the suspect vehicle it was following. During hurried and covert efforts to re-establish contact with the suspect vehicle, Sergeant Hubbard attempted to cross a set of railroad tracks which were hidden by a row of trees and were marked only by unlighted crossbars. Stop signs marking the railroad tracks had been removed by the County Road Commission approximately two months previously.
Witnesses to the accident did not see any brake lights before Sergeant Hubbard’s vehicle collided with the engine of the train. When his team could not contact him, they retraced his route and located the accident. Despite valiant attempts to save his life, Sergeant Hubbard died approximately half-an-hour later at the local hospital.
Sergeant Hubbard was the 33rd MSP officer to die in the line of duty.