Virginia State Trooper, who died in line of duty, honored by colleagues

A Virginia State Police trooper who was killed in the line of duty is being remembered with a building honoring him.

State Police dedicated a motor shed on Tuesday at its driver training complex in Nottoway County in honor of Mark Cosslett, a motor trooper who died in a fatal crash in 2002.

The building will be used to store motorcycles to train future motor troopers.

Cosslett was 40 years old when he died responding to reports of shots fired in the midst of the Washington-area sniper attacks that had the nation on alert.

Cosslett responded to a call on Interstate 95 in the Newington area. As he approached Springfield on I-95, a tow truck veered onto his path, leading to the fatal crash. He died at the scene.

Cosslett was scheduled to be off on the day he died but reported to work to assist other officers in the search for the sniper who had killed 10 people and wounded three in the Washington metro area. The shooting call that he responded to turned out to be unfounded.

The two suspects in the sniper case were arrested the next morning near Frederick, Md.

On May 21, Cosslett, along with 66 other State Police members killed in the line of duty, were honored at a memorial ceremony.

Motor shed dedication ceremony