Senior Trooper Charles Mark Cosslett

Charles Mark Cosslett

Trooper Charles Cosslett was killed in a motorcycle accident on I-95, near Backlick Road south of I-495, in the Springfield area of Fairfax County.

Trooper Cosslett was responding to a sniper-related shooting call at 1735 hours and driving on the right shoulder around rush hour traffic when a tow-truck veered onto the shoulder from the right lane. The motorcycle struck the tow-truck, killing Trooper Cosslett instantly.

Trooper Cosslett was scheduled to be off the day he was killed but reported to work to help other officers search for a sniper who had killed ten people and wounded another three in the Washington metro area. The shooting call he was responding to turned out to be unfounded. The two suspects in the sniper case were arrested at 0300 hours the next morning near Frederick, Maryland.

Trooper Cosslett was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, and had been employed with the Virginia State Police for 16 years. He is survived by his wife, 3-year-old son, and 2-year-old daughter.