We Were Speechless After Speaking With This Week's Hometown Hero

Get ready for a two-and-a-half-minute phone call that will make you move over every single time, without question.

A Hometown Hero can be anyone from active military, to veterans, to first responders, to anyone that has done something extraordinary for the community. The perfect candidate expects nothing in return for their efforts. We leave it to you to share their stories. Each selected Hometown Hero is recognized by Q98.5 and receives a $100 Amazon gift card courtesy for Riverside Dental.

This week's hometown hero is Tim Roush, an Illinois State Police trooper. We had hoped to chat with his wife, Heather, about why her husband is deserving of this recognition. The call did not go as planned in the best way possible. In fact, it left us speechless and further cemented the importance of Scott's Law (the 'move over' law).

Here is the letter we received from Tim's wife.

I nominate my husband who has been an Illinois State Trooper for 24 years and before that Roscoe PD and before that a Leaf River Fireman. Tim is very devoted to his work and family. He has a big heart. He was the first Trooper on the scene of Trooper Brooke Jones-Story and saw the worst. She and her husband (a retired Illinois State Trooper was a close friend to him). He has seen so many horrible things that I won't go into details but working Trooper Brooke-Jones accident has been the hardest thing for him to experience. When I was 8 months pregnant with our first child he was also hit on Highway 20 by a driver. He was in his squad car which is the only reason he survived. He was hurt but the person that hit him was dying. His squad car was damaged like a crushed soda can in the ditch, but Tim managed to crawl out to revive the other driver, Unfortunately, the person died at the hospital and this was really hard on my husband. This was another hard time for us as a family. He has handled another situation where another District 16 Trooper was hit on Highway 20 and was severely injured also. He has been in the ER himself due to work injuries twice but has had several close calls of getting killed on the job. He comes home relieved when he does not get hurt or killed. In horrible weather conditions like the coldest day last winter, he was out in it all day long as he helped stranded motorists. On similar days like this working in harsh weather all day he will work longer shifts without dinner or a break. He has found missing dogs to even finding a missing child. He has had guns and knives drawn on him. He has saved countless lives as well as seen so many deaths and suicides (including children). He sometimes is the one to go tell the families they just lost a loved one. Our family has had a death threat against us. He gets sad when we are out in a restaurant or a public place when he is off duty when someone in a restaurant starts complaining about cops. Yes, this has happened more than once. Off duty, he has broken up several fights (with me praying he will be ok) and assisted a motorist on the highway. All cops don't receive enough appreciation from the public but I am nominating my husband so he knows we appreciate him and that we love him with all our hearts. Thank you, Tim. The kids and I love you so much there are not enough words to describe how much we love you. Please nominate him because he is not only a Hero to this country but he is a special hero to us.

That's a powerful letter about a selfless man that continues to serve citizens regardless of the dangers that present themselves on a daily basis.

Thank you, Tim. It was truly an honor learning of your story and speaking with you directly.