State Trooper Frankie Williams, 31, and Lloyd Rudley, 61, dead after 2-vehicle wreck on Route 55 in Millville, New Jersey

A rookie state trooper responding to a call for help was killed in a violent wreck on a highway when a car traveling in the opposite direction crossed a grassy median and slammed into his cruiser head-on, authorities said.

The unidentified man was pronounced dead at the scene. Trooper Williams, 31, was flown to Cooper University Hospital in Camden, where he was pronounced dead, state police said.

Rudley was a psychiatrist in Elmer and a staff member at Inspira Health Network from 1986 to 2015, said Greg Potter, Inspira spokesman.

“He was in the hospital for a while until they got the diabetes under control but I don’t think he ever recovered fully,” says Kristi Schaller of Elmer.

A vigil for the 31-year-old trooper will be held at the Leesburg Volunteer Fire Department on Thursday night.

 A private viewing will be held from 8 to 10 a.m. for friends and family, followed by a separate viewing for law enforcement from 10 until noon, according to a notice posted[3] by the Adams-Perfect funeral home in Northfield. 

Hundreds of mourners assembled for a candlelight vigil Thursday night in the Leesburg section of Maurice River Township at Leechester Hall and Leesburg Volunteer Fire Company. Williams, 31, was stationed nearby in Port Norris.