Kentucky State Representative, Larry Belcher, Is Dead.

Read more on the C-J, or the excerpt below:

State Rep. Belcher dies in I-65 crash
By Beth Campbell

State Rep. Larry Belcher died last night in a collision with a tractor-trailer on Interstate 65 in south-central Kentucky.

Belcher was killed shortly before 6:15 p.m. CDT in Edmonson County when his northbound pickup truck ran into the back of the stopped tractor-trailer and went up under the truck, Kentucky State Police said.

Trooper Todd Holder said there was no sign of braking at the scene, and that police requested an autopsy to try to determine whether a health condition could have contributed to the wreck. Alcohol was not suspected, police said.

Belcher died at the scene, according to the Edmonson County coroner’s office.

The truck was stopped because of congestion from construction at the 46-mile marker, a state police news release said.

Mary Wasson, the truck driver from New Braunfels, Texas, was not believed to be injured.

Belcher, 61, a retired educator, was a Democrat from Shepherdsville who was seeking re-election in a race against Republican Trina Summers. He served in the state House from 1999 to 2002 when he ran for a Senate seat, but lost that race. He was re-elected to the House two years ago and had served since then.

Gov. Steve Beshear said Belcher would be “deeply missed.”

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of my friend Larry Belcher,” Beshear said in a release last night. “He loved his home and his state and he represented them both with great pride and commitment.”

Belcher was vice chairman of the House Education Committee and Seniors, Military Affairs and Public Safety Committee and also was a member of the Transportation Committee.

“He was a person who, when he spoke, you listened, because he didn’t talk unnecessarily,” said Rep. Tonya Pullin, D-South Shore and chairwoman of the seniors committee. “He had a good heart and was in public service for the right reason — to serve people.”

House Speaker Jody Richards said Belcher “was one of the finest men I have ever known.”

“His motives were pure,” said Richards, D-Bowling Green. “He was in the General Assembly to help people.”

Rep. Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, also praised Belcher.

“If there was ever a person in politics for the right reasons, it was Larry Belcher,” Stumbo said.

Belcher’s survivors include his wife, Linda.