LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Kentucky State Police Foundation is preparing to raffle off a used 1990s truck that was restored by a trooper who was killed in the line of duty.

Joseph Cameron Ponder spent countless hours on his truck during his brief visits home from the U.S. Navy.

"It was just something that he was pouring his heart into," said Brenda Tiffany, Ponder's mother. "He was always working on it."

After Ponder served in the U.S. Navy and trained with the Navy Seals, the Rineyville native graduated from the Kentucky State Police Academy in January 2015. The 1990 Chevrolet truck was Ponder's passion project in his early days as a state trooper.

"He just wanted to restore it," Tiffany said.

TROOPER PONDER FUNERAL

KSP Trooper Joseph Cameron Ponder.

Ponder never got the chance to sit in the driver's seat to take the truck for a long drive.

While on patrol in 2015 near Paducah in Lyon County, Ponder, who was 31 years old, was shot by Joseph Johnson-Shanks on Interstate 24 after a chase.

"He never got it running before the incident happened," Tiffany said.

Ponder died in the shooting, and his project was left unfinished.

But the project received some new hope due to the determination of his step father and mother. Ponder's family got the truck up and running.

"It was something that Cameron wanted to see happen and he wasn't there to experience it," Tiffany said.

After taking the restored truck to collectors shows around the state, the family decided to give the vehicle a new purpose.

"If I'm going to part with it, then it's got to be something that my heart feels good about," Tiffany said. "Anything connected to Kentucky State Police I knew he would be okay with."

The money raised by the KSP Foundation will go toward a new driver skills pad, where veteran troopers to cadets can practice safe, tactical maneuvers. KSP believes the area will save lives. Currently, KSP officers travel to Bowling Green to practice at the Corvette track, or out of state for this kind of training.

"Forty-seven percent of the fatalities in Kentucky State Police have come from vehicle related collisions and deaths from those collisions," said Hank Patton, KSP Foundation executive director. "So our goal is to save one life, that's what we're trying to do."

With a purpose to raise money to save troopers and bring longevity to a "perfectly solid" truck, Ponder's family hopes whoever takes over the keys will find their own ways to appreciate the fallen trooper's passion project.

"It's really not one of those regular rides out there," Tiffany said. "It's a truck that you want to get out and show off."

Tickets for the raffle will go on sale Thursday, and the drawing is set for February 17, 2023 at 1 p.m. on the KSP Foundation Facebook page. 

To purchase a ticket, click here.

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