Man Charged with DUI After Colliding with Trooper

A Virginia State Police trooper is recovering after his patrol vehicle was struck by a drunk driver Saturday night (July 31) in Campbell County.

Senior Trooper C.L. Thomas was traveling north on Route 29 when a 1991 Toyota Camry pulled into its travel lane from English Tavern Road. The trooper was unable to avoid striking the westbound Camry and the two vehicles collided in the northbound travel lanes of Route 29. The crash occurred at 11:55 p.m.

Sr. Trooper Thomas was transported to Lynchburg General Hospital where he was treated for minor injuries and released later Saturday night. The trooper had been en-route to a traffic crash in Campbell County when this crash occurred.

The driver of the Camry, Lawrence J. Farmer Jr., 52, of Forest, was also transported to Lynchburg General Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. Farmer has been charged with DUI and with driving after being declared a habitual offender.

The crash remains under investigation.

“Fortunately no one was seriously injured or killed in this crash,” said F/Sgt. J.L. Hopkins, Area 20 Commander in Lynchburg. “This is the third state trooper struck by a drunk driver in Virginia within the past several weeks. Drunk drivers put everyone’s lives at risk.”

“A total of three people were killed in traffic crashes in Campbell County last year. Two of those three were killed in alcohol-related crashes. Another 76 individuals were injured in alcohol-related crashes in 2009 in Campbell County.* Campbell County residents and all Virginians are asked to do their part in safeguarding our highways by never driving drunk,” said F/Sgt. Hopkins.

Posted by Charles Penifore on Aug 3 2010. Filed under Police. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry