By CATHY DYSON
Trooper Adam Bowen took "evasive action" to avoid a car that turned in front of him and "sacrificed his life in an attempt to save others," according to the Virginia State Police.
The report about the police investigation into the fatal accident was released yesterday.
It stated that the trooper was traveling approximately 85 mph, in a 45-mph zone dotted with stores and restaurants, when he was struck by another vehicle going 24 mph.
The driver of that car will not be charged with failing to yield the right of way, even though he "clearly disregarded the blaring lights and siren of a marked cruiser," said King George Commonwealth's Attorney Matt Britton.
Britton's comments were included in the state police report about the accident that killed 28-year-old trooper Adam Maynard Bowen on June 24 in King George.
Bowen, a three-year veteran of the force, was headed west on State Route 3 about 6:45 p.m. that Friday night. He was responding to a call to assist a narcotics task force operation.
At the intersection of Route 3 and Barbara's Way, which is the entrance to First Lady's Centre shopping area, the light was solid green for both west- and eastbound traffic.
An eastbound Hyundai Elantra, driven by James H. Sunderlin, 69, of Stafford County, failed to yield the right of way as it turned into the shopping center, the report stated.
Based on 135 feet of tire marks at the scene, eyewitness accounts and the state police's reconstruction investigation, Bowen changed lanes from the left to the right to avoid the turning vehicle. The Hyundai struck the police cruiser's rear door on the driver's side, causing it to spin into the curb on the right side of the highway.
The Ford Crown Victoria then rolled on its passenger side and the roof slammed into a traffic light pole.
Bowen was going approximately 67 mph when his car hit the pole, the report stated. The impact caused the vehicle to pull apart along the riveted seams of the frame. The front end continued into the First Lady parking lot, where it struck three vehicles.
Bowen, who was wearing a seat belt, was thrown from the car and died at the scene.
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