Trooper struck by tractor-trailer during traffic stop on I-664

CHESAPEAKE

A Virginia State Police trooper was in serious condition after being struck by a tractor-trailer on Interstate 664 this afternoon.

About 12:50 p.m., Sr. Trooper S.E. Hawkins had stopped a vehicle on the right shoulder of southbound I-664, south of Portsmouth Boulevard, but as he was collecting the driver’s information, a southbound tractor-trailer ran off the road and into the shoulder, where it struck the trooper, a news release from the Virginia State Police said.

The tractor-trailer driver told police he was trying to move over a lane, but traffic was too heavy. As he came back into his lane, the truck drifted off the right side of the road and struck the trooper.

The truck driver, Randy E. Maglione, 57, of Pennsylvania, was charged with reckless driving.

Maglione and the driver of the stopped vehicle were not injured in the crash.

Hawkins, 54, was taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital with serious injuries.

A 10-year veteran of the state police Chesapeake Division Motorcycle Unit, Hawkins was participating in a special enforcement effort targeting speeders and reckless drivers in the Bowers Hill area, the news release said.

Southbound I-664 at Portsmouth Boulevard was closed to all traffic for about 45 minutes this afternoon, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation. One lane of traffic was opened about 1:45 p.m. and then the entire road was reopened about 3:30 p.m.