Almost 30 years after a Dakota County deputy was killed in a crash, a portion of a county highway has been named in his honor.

Deputy Luther Klug was headed home when heard an emergency call and offered to provide assistance on July 15, 1996. When he finished and headed home again, he was hit by a drunk driver on Highway 316 and County Road 68 near Hastings. Klug, 36, died the following morning, leaving behind a wife and a young boy.

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His son, Jordan, a current sergeant in the Dakota County Sheriff’s Office, was one of dozens of local, county and state law enforcement officials on hand Thursday morning to see County Road 68 near Hastings renamed in Klug’s honor.

“For those that pass this sign on this road, this is not just another sign. It is not here to just remind us of the life lost but to honor and remember how Luther lived, who he was as a person and who he represents,” Dakota County Sheriff Joe Leko said at Thursday’s ceremony.