On the Job 

Trooper Nicholas Cayton
About noon on Oct. 16, Ohio State Highway Patrol Trooper Nicholas Cayton responded to a disabled Kenworth tractor-trailer that had struck debris and stopped in the right lane of Route 11 in Canfield, about 10 miles southwest of Youngstown.

He was in his patrol cruiser with the lights flashing when a Mack truck crashed into his car and pushed it into the tractor-trailer. The 40-year-old trooper died at the scene. 

Trooper Cayton, who had served on the Highway Patrol since 2012, is remembered for his courage, commitment, and unwavering dedication to protecting others.

“We feel the loss deeply and personally,” Patrol Superintendent Col. Charles Jones said.
Cayton was named Post Trooper of the Year in 2022 and, two years later, earned the designation of Master Trooper.

A 2004 graduate of Carrollton High School, he joined the Ohio Army National Guard in 2007 while attending Youngstown State University. He was deployed twice overseas, in 2008 to Iraq with the 583rd Military Police Company and in 2013 to Afghanistan with the 838th Military Police Company. He finished his service as a staff sergeant in 2014.

Trooper Cayton married his high-school sweetheart, Lynsey, in 2007 and was the proud father of two young children. He loved sports and music and spent many years playing the bagpipes with the Steel Valley Pipes and Drums and the Highway Patrol.


Officer Dave Wolgamott
Canton Police Officer Dave Wolgamott, who served with the department for nearly 20 years, died on Nov. 10 of injuries suffered in a collision as he was driving to work. He was 47.

Roads at the time of the crash, just before 7 a.m., were reported to be icy.

Wolgamott joined the Canton Police Department in August 2006. He was assigned to the patrol division, working in the jail.

“His absence will be deeply felt by his fellow officers, his family, and every resident of Canton,” Mayor William V. Sherer II said.

After graduating from Mogadore High School in 1998, Wolgamott joined the U.S. Army and served in Bosnia. He stayed in the Army National Guard for years afterward.

Before he was hired by Canton, he worked part-time for the Lakemore, Strasburg and Bolivar police departments.

Officer Wolgamott is survived by his wife of three years, Crystal; a son and daughter; and two stepdaughters.