Dozens of law officers, first responders, town folk, and others gathered on the front lawn of AlWood Elementary School in Alpha on Saturday.
They were there to dedicate a roughly 20-mile stretch of U.S. Route 150 in Knox and Henry counties in honor of the only Knox County sheriff’s deputy to die in the line of duty.
The Deputy Sheriff Nick Weist Memorial Highway stretches from Main Street in Galesburg to Illinois Route 17 in Alpha. The Illinois legislature approved the designation this year.
During the dedication ceremony, speakers saluted Weist as they told the story of his heroic actions on the morning of April 29, 2022.
Former Knox County Sheriff David Clague: Deputy Weist had completed a shift at the Knox County Sheriff’s Department and was en route home. Monitoring the radio transmissions, Deputy Weist quickly learned of a pursuit involving shots being fired at the pursuing Galesburg police officers and Knox County deputies.
State Representative Dan Swanson: We think of that sacrifice – he could have gone home. But he didn’t.
Former Knox County Sheriff David Clague: Deputy Weist, who had entered Alpha, had to make a very quick, split second decision: Do I continue home, or do I stop and deploy the stop spikes? By doing so immediately, the spikes could have been deployed right here in front of the school.
Alpha Mayor Dean Kernan: Let’s just say Alpha is not your bustling community. But at that time of day it is. We have people going to work, people going to school, this highway is very busy.
Former Knox County Sheriff David Clague: Yet another split-second decision had to be made by Deputy Weist. He turned around and went south on Route 150 to deploy the stop spikes, ensuring the safety of countless others.
AlWood Elementary School teacher Mary Fuson: What if Deputy Weist would not have acted in the way he did? The whole story might have totally had a different ending. More lives would definitely have been lost if that speeding car made its way into the Alpha community and to AlWood Elementary School located right here on 150.
Henry County Sheriff Josh Verscheure: I heard on my way into the office that Knox County was in a pursuit with a subject and that he was firing a gun at them. And then I heard the two worst words: officer down.
Former Knox County Sheriff David Clague: Stop spikes were deployed and while attempting to get to a safe location himself, Deputy Weist was struck by the suspect’s vehicle, causing the fatal injuries.
Henry County Sheriff Josh Verscheure: I then went to the scene and met with deputies, officers, that I never met before, but I cried with them.
State Senator Neil Anderson who’s a fireman and paramedic in Moline: Guys like Nick are heroes. They’re the guys that go above and beyond the call of duty, and unfortunately in Nick’s case, made the ultimate sacrifice.
Henry County Sheriff Josh Verscheure: I never met Nick, but I lost a brother that day. We all – everyone who puts a badge on, wears this uniform -- lost a brother that day.
AlWood Elementary School teacher Mary Fuson: May we never forget what happened on that April day in 2022. Seeing the signs for the highway, may it remind us all of the blessings we have and how precious life really is.
Alpha Mayor Dean Kernan: Truly, you were our hero, and we thank God you lived.
Chaplain Jason Gilmore: I pray that as people drive this stretch of road, that they would remember the good times with Nick. That they remember the sacrifice and that it would not be tears of sorrow or sadness but tears of hope and of remembering a hero.
State Representative Dan Swanson: There’s such a theme to today on the “what ifs?” We’re so blessed that we don’t have to experience that “what if?” What if Nick would had not done what he did? A true hero.
Signs will mark the Deputy Sheriff Nick Weist Memorial Highway.
At the end of the dedication ceremony, copies of the signs were presented to Weist’s widow, Jessica, and their children, Ava, 12, and Emery, 9.
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