File Photo First Sergeant Tobin Triebel, Maryland State Police flight paramedic. Purchase this photo

A Senate committee voted unanimously Wednesday to support a bill that would give line-of-duty death benefits to the family of the late 1st Sgt. Tobin Triebel and other families of troopers in good standing who are killed while exercising.

Triebel, a New Market resident, was on vacation in November and was struck by a tree-trimming truck while jogging down a road.

The bill would give the secretary of Maryland State Police the authority to award line-of-duty death benefits for people who are killed while exercising to maintain fitness for duty on a case-by-case basis.

Triebel, 39, was a flight paramedic on medevac helicopters. He is survived by his wife and two daughters. His wife is going to school to get a master's degree so she can teach.

The family of a state trooper is entitled to $185,000 in death and funeral benefits if the trooper dies in the line of duty.

The law would retroactively give Triebel's family death benefits. His death was not considered to be in the line of duty under state law.

About 50 of Triebel's relatives and friends attended the hearing Wednesday in support of the bill.

His father, Ted Triebel, traveled from North Carolina to speak to the committee.

He said his son did his duty honorably and put himself in danger to help people. His son's wife and daughters already have to deal with emotional hardship.

"They should not have to deal with serious financial hardship," Triebel said.

In a rare move, the committee approved the bill immediately after the hearing, and many committee members asked to be added as co-sponsors.

The bill is also supported by Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller.

"It's flying through the Senate," said Sen. Alex Mooney, R-Frederick /Washington, the sponsor of the bill.

He told the committee that Triebel was a good man who helped many state residents.

"Sometimes we all know it takes a tragedy like this to realize a problem with the law and that something needs to be changed," Mooney said.

Friends and family members cried as those who knew him told the committee about his community service as a paramedic and a youth soccer coach for the Linganore Urbana Youth Athletic Association.

Art Hall, a teammate of Triebel's with the Frederick Rugby Club, said the trooper always worked to stay in top physical condition.

It was fitting, he said, for the Senate to pass a bill in honor of a man who was willing to risk his life daily to help others.

Sen. David Brinkley, R-Frederick /Carroll, knew Triebel and is a co-sponsor on the bill. It makes sense to give the state police discretion for line-of-duty death benefits, he said.

"He dedicated his life first to his family, then to the state," Brinkley told the committee.