SOUTH BEAVER — A state trooper died after a crash with a tractor-trailer in western Pennsylvania on Thursday while he was on patrol, authorities said.

Trooper Blake T. Coble, 47, was on patrol just after 10 a.m. when the crash occurred on State Road 168 and Blackhawk Road in South Beaver, authorities said..

Police said it appears the truck ran a stop sign, but no charges have been filed yet, and the investigation is ongoing.

Coble had been a trooper since 1988 and was scheduled to retire in a few months. He was stationed with Troop D in Beaver; his wife is a communications operator there. They have two children.

Coble was the 94th member of the state police to die in the line of duty.

GETTYSBURG — A man convicted of killing a state game warden during a poaching investigation has been sentenced to death.The Adams County jury issued its verdict in the penalty phase of Christopher Johnson's trial Thursday night. Jurors had been deciding between giving Johnson life in prison or death in the 2010 killing of wildlife conservation officer David Grove. Earlier Thursday, Johnson had taken the stand and said he was sorry for the pain he had caused Grove's relatives, lamenting there was nothing he could do to bring Grove back.