Texas Highway Patrol Corporal David Ralph Slaton, 56, died in the line of duty on September 20, 2010, 2 miles south of Ringold in Montague County, after his highway patrol car collided with a cow. His patrol unit was then forced into the opposite lane of traffic where it was hit head-on by a tractor trailer truck.

Corporal Slaton had been with the Texas Department of Public Safety for 36 years and stationed in Bowie for his entire career. He is survived by his wife and a son.