ESSEX COUNTY, Va. (WTVR) - A Virginia State Trooper and a worker contracted by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) were hit and injured by a truck that ran off the road in an Essex County work zone Sunday night.
Police said a 1995 GMC pickup truck ran off Route 17 near Richmond Beach Road and hit Senior Trooper J.D. Stamper and highway engineer Darrell J. Howard, 46, of Barboursville.
Stamper suffered minor injuries and was released from the hospital Sunday night. Howard suffered more serious injuries and is still recovering at the hospital.
Pick-up truck driver Robert P. Jenkins II, 20, of Dunnsville, is charged with reckless driving. Va. State Police said alcohol was not a factor in the crash and that additional charges against Jenkins are pending. He was not injured, police said.
Police said Trooper Stamper pushed a third person, who was standing along the side of the road with Stamper and Howard, to safety as the truck drove towards them.
The state police investigation into the crash is on-going.
