Quincy Reporter

An Illinois Senate joint resolution that would designate the Deputy Nick Weist Memorial Highway in honor of a Knox County sheriff’s deputy who died in the line of duty has been advanced to the House Rules Committee.

Nicholas “Nick” Donald Weist, 34, died on April 29, 2022, after being struck by a vehicle driven by an armed man fleeing officers from the Galesburg Police Department. Weist was struck while setting up a deflation device (spike strips) on U.S. Route 150 at North 150th Avenue in Henry County, a Facebook post on the Knox County Sheriff’s Department website said.

Senate Joint Resolution 4 would designate “U.S. Route 150 from Galesburg Main Street to the intersection of U.S. Route 150 and Illinois Route 17 in Alpha as the ‘Deputy Sheriff Nick Weist Memorial Highway,’ " the resolution’s synopsis said.

State Sen. Neil Anderson (R-Andalusia), chief sponsor of SJR4, said in a statement on May 19 that Weist was a “true public servant and died a hero.”

“It’s highly fitting in this body that we honor and respect those truly great individuals who have served our state and in doing so made the ultimate sacrifice,” Anderson said in the statement.

Weist, who lived in Viola, Illinois, worked at the Knox County Sheriff's Department since 2018, his obituary said. He was a 2009 graduate of Western Illinois University with a degree in law enforcement and justice administration. His law-enforcement career included working as a 911 dispatcher and correctional officer for the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department, serving with the Aledo Police Department and volunteering for the Viola Fire Department. He was married and the father of two children.

The Quad-City Times reported in March that a summer trial is expected for Daylon K. Richardson, 23, the man charged with murder in Weist’s death. Richardson, of Granite City, “was charged with murder, being a felon in possession of a firearm, aggravated fleeing and improper traffic lane usage.”

“Richardson is accused of hitting Weist while the deputy was putting out stop sticks. The sticks disabled Richardson’s vehicle, and he was apprehended on foot shortly after, police said,” Quad-City Times reported.