Trooper Orrin Hawkins has been singled out as the Missouri Department of Public Safety’s Sworn Team Member of the Month after his work on a fatal crash investigation that left a 14-year-old passenger dead and led to a manslaughter charge against the driver.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol credited Hawkins with meticulous investigative work and a steady, compassionate approach with the victim’s family. His efforts, the agency said, helped build a clearer picture of what happened in the moments before impact.
In a Facebook post by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, investigators said Hawkins documented that the driver had been snapping photos for social media immediately before the collision and that the driver has been charged with manslaughter. The patrol noted that the monthly honor comes from the Missouri Department of Public Safety, which keeps an online archive of recipients on the Missouri Department of Public Safety website. The patrol’s post went up Wednesday evening.
How Hawkins' work helped the case
“He was driven by the patrol's high investigative standards and his compassion for the young victim's family,” the patrol wrote in its Facebook post, praising Hawkins’ methodical documentation of social media evidence that investigators say helped reconstruct what unfolded in the minutes before the wreck.
The post did not identify the victim or specify where the crash occurred, keeping the spotlight instead on Hawkins’ investigative steps and what they meant for the family’s search for answers.
About the award and Hawkins' record
The Department of Public Safety’s monthly recognition program highlights sworn and non-sworn personnel across Missouri for actions that save lives or significantly advance investigations, and short write-ups for each honoree are posted on the Missouri Department of Public Safety site.
Hawkins is not new to that roster. The archive lists him as a Sworn Team Member of the Month in May 2023 for a lifesaving response in Cape Girardeau, a prior commendation that the department notes alongside his latest recognition.
Why social media evidence matters
Time-stamped photos and posts can become crucial pieces in crash reconstructions when phone activity lines up with the collision timeline, giving investigators a digital trail that can support or contradict statements from those involved.
National public health officials have repeatedly warned that distracted driving remains a persistent danger, including in cases involving teens. Guidance for parents and others on common risk factors is available from the CDC.
Legal context
Under Missouri law, recklessly causing another person’s death can be charged as involuntary manslaughter in the first degree, which is classified as a class C felony, while criminal negligence can lead to a second-degree manslaughter charge. The statutory language appears on the Missouri Revisor of Statutes website at RSMo §565.024. Those remain allegations that must be proved in court.
The patrol’s public post is the most detailed account released so far. Additional information is expected to surface through official crash reports and court filings as the case moves ahead. Details on how to request an official crash report are available on the Missouri State Highway Patrol records page.
