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Roanoke County: State Police investigating death during traffic stop on Route 220

Chris Graham
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The Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Salem Field Office is investigating a death that occurred during a felony traffic stop in Roanoke County Tuesday night.

The U.S. Marshal’s Service Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force was conducting an ongoing criminal investigation into a fugitive suspect known to be in the area of Route 220 in Roanoke County. Task force members identified a passenger in a Toyota pickup as the wanted individual and initiated a traffic stop at approximately 9 p.m.

Task force members activated emergency lights and siren to initiate the traffic stop and the Toyota turned off Route 220 and stopped on Crossbow Court.

As the USMS members approached the Toyota, they heard a single gunshot.

When the marshals and task force members got to the vehicle, they found the passenger suffering from what appears to have been a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Law enforcement on scene immediately rendered aid to the passenger, who was later identified as Joshua R. Donahue, 47, of Roanoke.

Donahue was transported by EMS to Roanoke Memorial Hospital, where he later died.

The remains were transported to the Medical Examiner’s Office in Roanoke for examination and autopsy.

No law enforcement on scene discharged their weapons. The adult male driver of the pickup truck was not injured in the shooting. A handgun was recovered from inside the pickup truck.

The incident remains under investigation.

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Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, TikTok, BlueSky, or subscribe to Substack or his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].