In a tragic turn of events, Washington State lost one of its own when Trooper Tara-Marysa Guting, a Mililani High School graduate and Washington State Patrol officer, was fatally struck while responding to an accident on the job. The incident took place on Friday, Dec. 19, just before 7:30 p.m. PST, when Guting was investigating a car accident on southbound State Route 509 close to milepost 2, south of the Port of Tacoma. According to KHON2, witnesses at the scene attempted to provide aid, but the trooper, age 29, did not survive her injuries.
In her career that began as a trooper cadet in January 2024, witnesses at the scene said Guting dedicated her life to service, first enlisting in the Army National Guard on Oct. 22, 2014, as a Signal Intelligence Analyst, and served until Oct. 21, 2022. Her journey with the Washington State Patrol started shortly after her military service, where she was commissioned on Oct. 30, 2024. Local news outlet Hawaii News Now also highlighted that Guting had been assigned badge #720, a number that will be remembered in her honor.
Guting was not just known for her dedication to her duties but also for her impact on her community back in Hawaii. Her former Judo coach, Kalani Takase, remembered her positive spirit, telling Hawaii News Now, "She was a tremendous supporter, consummate teammate. She had the personality that I think teammates would just kind of gravitate to because she was always positive, you know, when practices would get hard, when losses might, you know, provide a setback or hit a student with a setback." Takase praised her character and the qualities she carried into her law enforcement career.
For the state of Washington, Guting's passing marks the 34th in-the-line-of-duty death in the 105-year history of the agency, a stark reminder of the risks law enforcement officers take daily. WSP Chief John R. Batiste acknowledged the profound loss, saying in a statement obtained by KHON2, "We will never forget Badge #720 – Trooper Tara-Marysa Guting. The sky has poured rain on us all for the past two weeks… And with this loss, now tears flood our souls." Guting leaves behind her husband, Timothy, a Deputy State Fire Marshal at the WSP Fire Training Academy in North Bend, whom she had married at the academy, according to reports.
The Tacoma Police Department has taken over the investigation into the crash that led to the untimely death of Trooper Guting. The community mourns as the memory of her service and commitment to public safety lives on, honoring her legacy both in Hawaii and Washington State.
