A new bill introduced in the Ohio Senate would rename a portion of State Route 11 in Mahoning County after Trooper Nicholas P. Cayton, the Ohio State Highway Patrolman who was killed in a crash on the route in October 2025.

State Senator Al Cutrona (R-Canfield) introduced Senate Bill 365 and said in a Thursday release that, if passed, the bill would designate part of the route as the "Trooper Nicholas P. Cayton Memorial Highway." 

"I know that this memorial will honor a great Ohioan who gave his all while serving and protecting The Valley and Eastern Ohio," Cutrona stated in the release.

In October 2025, Cayton responded to assist a disabled tractor-trailer on Route 11 in Canfield. As Cayton was sitting in his cruiser on the scene, with his emergency lights on, another truck crashed into the back of his cruiser, causing it to ram into the back of the disabled tractor-trailer as well as strike the driver who was in the roadway.

Following his death, the community honored Cayton and celebrated his life through benefit concerts, memorial services and police processions; at the time Governor Mike DeWine also ordered all flags at half staff in honor of the fallen trooper.

Cayton was a 13 year veteran of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

 

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