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VSP to dedicate aviation hangar to Trooper who died in Charlottesville crash

Posted at 5:07 PM, Feb 06, 2018
and last updated 2018-02-06 17:07:43-05

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. – Virginia State Police will rename its Chesterfield Aviation Base at the Chesterfield County Airport in honor of Lt. Jay Cullen III, one of the two Troopers killed in a helicopter crash during the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville.

The 48-year-old Midlothian man and Trooper-Pilot Berke Bates, 40, were killed on August 12, 2017, when a Virginia State Police helicopter crashed into a wooded area near a home on Old Farm Road in Albemarle County.

Cullen and Bates were on their way to provide over-watch for the motorcade of then-Governor Terry McAuliffe.

Cullen had served out of the Chesterfield Aviation Base since his promotion to sergeant in 2005.

Virginia State Police will honor him during a dedication ceremony and sign unveiling on Wednesday, Feb. 7. The ceremony will be at 2 p.m. at the hangar, located at 7400 Airfield Drive, near Iron Bridge Road.

Lt. Cullen graduated from the Virginia State Police Academy in May 1994 as a member of the 90th Basic Session. He first joined the Virginia State Police Aviation Unit in 1999.

Cullen was survived by his wife and two sons.

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