Nearly 96 years after New York State Trooper James M. MacLarnon was killed in the line of duty on Long Island, a bridge at one of the Island’s major parkway interchanges has been dedicated in his honor.
Members of the New York State Police gathered Oct. 2 with Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio, State Sen. Steven Rhoads and Shannon Fredericks, representing Assemblyman David McDonough, for a ceremony honoring MacLarnon.
The southbound Wantagh State Parkway bridge over the Southern State Parkway was dedicated in his memory, creating a permanent tribute near the parkways MacLarnon was assigned to patrol during the early years of Long Island’s modern highway system.
MacLarnon died on Jan. 19, 1931, after being struck by a vehicle while on duty. Historical accounts preserved by organizations connected to the State Police differ on the precise circumstances of the crash.
The current New York State Police memorial says MacLarnon was killed instantly while crossing the Southern State Parkway. According to that account, he had been assigned to traffic control at a booth near the intersection of the Southern State and Wantagh parkways. After parking his motorcycle on the shoulder and walking toward a fixed post, he was struck by a westbound vehicle.
The Troopers Memorial Fund preserves a different account. Its memorial says MacLarnon was struck by a car on Merrick Road in Bellmore while returning to duty with another trooper after the two had eaten dinner at their rooming house.
The surviving records also differ slightly on his assignment at the time of his death. The New York State Police says MacLarnon originally served at White Plains and was assigned to Bethpage, while the Troopers Memorial Fund lists him as assigned to the Jones Beach barracks.
What the accounts agree on is MacLarnon’s role during an important period in Long Island transportation history.
He had joined the New York State Police in 1927 and was a four-year veteran when he died. MacLarnon was one of the original members of K Troop assigned to the Long Island Parkway detail, putting him among the early troopers responsible for policing the Island’s rapidly developing parkway network.
Long before State Police cruisers became a familiar sight on the Southern, Wantagh and other Long Island parkways, troopers such as MacLarnon patrolled a highway system that was still taking shape.
His public service began even before he joined the State Police.
MacLarnon previously served with the 71st Infantry Regiment of the New York National Guard. In 1926, he was recognized for an act of bravery after saving two canoeists from drowning in the Hudson River, receiving a medal of valor for the rescue.
The new bridge dedication followed legislation designating the Wantagh State Parkway overpass in his honor. The measure passed the State Legislature in 2025 and was signed into law that September.
Under the law, signs identify the structure as the “Bridge Dedicated to Trooper James M MacLarnon.” The designation is commemorative and does not change the official name of the Wantagh State Parkway itself.
The location makes the tribute particularly fitting. Nearly a century after MacLarnon served as one of the troopers assigned to Long Island’s early parkways, thousands of motorists now pass his name at the junction of the Wantagh and Southern State parkways.
MacLarnon remains among the fallen members remembered by New York State Police Troop L. His end of watch is recorded as Jan. 19, 1931.
Whatever uncertainty remains in the surviving accounts about the exact location of the crash, the central facts of his story are clear: MacLarnon served during the formative years of Long Island’s parkway system, had already been recognized for saving two lives before becoming a trooper, and died in the line of duty after only four years with the State Police.
The bridge dedicated in his honor now places that history directly on the parkway system he once helped patrol.
