The family of an Indiana state trooper killed in the line of duty is left without a mortgage payment.
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation announced in a news release Tuesday that it has paid the mortgage on the home where Master Trooper James Bailey lived with his wife and children, Joseph and Sophia.
Bailey, 50, was killed in March 2023 after being struck by a vehicle on Interstate 69 south of Auburn. Bailey had been attempting to activate a stop bar to defuse a collision with a vehicle fleeing from Fort Wayne police.
Bailey's wife, Amy, said in a statement that the family had lived in their Auburn home since 2015.
“This is a home where my children can remember their father,” she said. “Tunnel to Towers has allowed our family to continue living in the home where we created so many memories together.”
The foundation said 34 families in about 20 states received similar support in honor of Independence Day. The foundation's Fallen Police and Firefighter Families Program supports the families of police officers and firefighters who were killed in the line of duty, died from 9/11-related illnesses or left behind young children.
Foundation president and CEO Frank Schiller said Tunnel to Towers is honored to help relieve Bailey's family from the financial burden of a mortgage.
“Deploying spike strips is one of the most dangerous actions a police officer can take – putting himself in the path of a fleeing suspect to stop him from harming others,” Schiller said in a statement. “Officer Bailey knew the risks and risked his own life to save others.”
The charity did not immediately respond to an email asking how much the Baileys' mortgage payment was.
Bailey graduated from Garrett High School in 1991 and served with the Indiana State Police for more than 15 years, receiving a Lifesaving Award in 2010, was named the district's Officer of the Year in 2012 and received the Combat Action Award in 2021, according to his obituary.