ORLANDO, Fla. – After nearly a decade of helping Central Florida drivers navigate the morning commute — and building a following that extended far beyond traffic maps — “Trooper Steve” is leaving News 6.
Steve, who became a familiar face to WKMG-TV viewers after first arriving in 2017, said he never expected the job to last nearly as long as it did.
“And here we are almost a decade later. Heck, I didn’t think I’d last two years,” he said.
From trooper to TV
“I was the spokesperson for the Highway Patrol. I had already branded myself as Trooper Steve,” he said.
Then, as Central Florida prepared for Hurricane Irma in 2017, News 6 approached him.
“…suddenly we’re getting hit by a hurricane… In 2017, and they’re like, ‘Hey, do you want to come work with us?’” he said.
Steve said his first response was no, citing his belief in maintaining a separation between government work and broadcast journalism.
But he said the station’s vision went beyond reading traffic speeds.
“It wasn’t just, ‘You’re a traffic anchor.’ It’s like, ‘No, you actually can look at a crash and tell us how it’s happening,’” he said.
He agreed to join, he said, with one condition.
“I was like, ‘Look, I’ll come over, but you’re going to call me a traffic safety expert… Let’s brand this thing,’” he said. “We have the opportunity to do two different things, bring some real traffic education, and humanize law enforcement a little bit.”
An unscripted style that connected
Steve said he worried about his candid, sometimes sarcastic approach might eventually get him “canceled.”
“Because I could be so unscripted and a little not controlled that I thought at some point I’m going to say something that… makes someone feel called out,” he said.
Instead, he said the opposite happened.
“The fact that I would get up on camera and call someone a clown… All of a sudden the emails would blow up. But, ‘Thank you. That’s what we want to say,’” he said.
Steve said part of the connection was that he didn’t try to deliver traffic like a traditional anchor. He said he talked like the community he grew up in.
“I live in this community. I was raised in this community. I’m part of part of the crew,” he said. “So why not talk like everybody else? Because I don’t know how to talk any other way.”
“What the Honk” — and making traffic interactive
One of his most popular recurring bits, “What the Honk,” started after viewers began sending him videos and pictures of bad driving.
“People are sending me videos, sending me pictures… and I was like, ‘Wait, I talk smack anyway,’” he said.
Steve said the segment was designed to make viewers part of the show — while still keeping the focus on safety.
“My bosses at the time said you can talk as much smack as you want, but provide the educational side of it,” he said.
Moments that mattered: honoring service and showing up in the community
While traffic was the daily job, Steve said some of his most meaningful moments at News 6 were about service — and helping viewers understand what they were seeing.
He pointed to his work covering law enforcement funerals.
“Being able to explain to the viewer what they’re seeing, why we’re covering it… that was… pretty amazing,” he said.
He also described the impact of traveling with veterans on an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C.
“You’re talking World War Two veterans, Vietnam veterans… go see all these monuments that some of these men and women never have been able to see. But yet they fought in the wars,” he said.
Steve said one of the most powerful moments came at the end of the day.
“Coming back to the Sanford airport… there’s hundreds of people waiting to welcome them back,” he said. “Our Vietnam vets weren’t welcomed home properly.”
He said hearing words like “thank you” and “welcome home” offered something many veterans never received.
“For them, hearing a thank you or welcome home… was almost like finishing their story a little bit,” he said.
He also described his role as a visible presence at community events.
“As a News 6 traffic guy, being almost an ambassador… represent News 6, shake hands with people in the community,” he said.
Among his favorites: Fourth of July events and the annual lighting of the Christmas tree.
“I’ve been able to do that nine times now. And it’s going to be difficult not to not to do that,” he said.
“I would not be where I’m at if it wasn’t for them”
Steve said the audience — what he affectionately calls his “Trooper Steve Army” — helped shape his career.
“I would not have been able to get where we’re at without what’s outside of our building,” he said.
He credited viewers for checking in when he was off the air and for connecting with him through social media.
“If I’m gone for two days, they notice… and my inbox blows up,” he said.
That connection, he said, carried him through difficult times, including a cancer diagnosis during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“During that time, everyone was in my inbox. ‘Steve… how are you doing?’” he said.
As he prepares to leave the broadcast side, Steve said his gratitude to viewers remains central.
“I would not be where I’m at if it wasn’t for them. Hands down,” he said. “You can say thank you a million times, but when I say it like I mean it, you got me.”
What’s next: City of Apopka
Steve said his next chapter will keep him in public service — as the director of public information for the City of Apopka.
“So I am now the director of public information for the City of Apopka,” he said.
In the new role, he said he plans to emphasize transparency and proactive communication.
“I believe in proactive… communication, transparent, whether you like it or not. I at least want to give you the information,” he said.
Steve also said he wants to elevate local storytelling — including small business partnerships and city employees whose work often goes unseen.
“I think it would be cool to tell their story,” he said.
A career built on empathy and safety
Asked what he’s taking with him from News 6, Steve pointed to empathy.
“The number one thing I learned from day one to now… is empathy,” he said. “Not everyone thinks like what you think. Not everyone lives how you live. Not everybody has the same values.”
And he said the daily mission never changed: help people get home safely.
“If I can go out every day and one person… hears what I said and they share it… I think somewhere down the road where we’re saving someone’s life,” he said.
Steve final day on air is July 31.