VIRGINIA STATE POLICE TROOPER TO BE MEMORIALIZED 25 YEARS AFTER LINE-OF-DUTY DEATH
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ROCKBRIDGE CO. – Virginia legislators, state and local law enforcement, the Virginia National Guard and Virginia Department of Transportation, family and friends will gather Monday, July 14, 2014, in Lexington to ceremoniously dedicate a portion of Interstate 81 in memory of slain Virginia State Police Master Trooper Jerry L. Hines. During the 2014 General Assembly session, Sen. Creigh Deeds and Del. Ben Cline sponsored legislation to designate the I-81 bridge over the Maury River in Rockbridge County the Master Trooper Jerry L. Hines Memorial Bridge.
Hines, 48, was shot and killed at approximately 11:55 p.m. on Feb. 20, 1989, during the course of a traffic stop in the southbound lanes of I-81 near the I-64 interchange in Rockbridge County. Hines’ line-of-duty death occurred during an eight-hour rampage that started in Shenandoah County when Dennis W. Eaton, 32, of Mount Jackson, Va., killed a neighbor and a male friend of Eaton’s girlfriend. Following those shootings, Eaton stole his neighbor’s car and was traveling along I-81 when Hines initiated the traffic stop. After shooting Hines, Eaton and his girlfriend fled the scene. They were later spotted by a Salem police officer. A high-speed pursuit ensued and ended when Eaton crashed into a series of utility poles. Immediately following the crash, Eaton shot and killed his girlfriend, exchanged gunfire with the Salem police officers, and then wounded himself. Eaton was finally taken into custody. | | | | | |
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