RICHMOND, Va. – On Thursday, the Virginia Senate introduced a bill to name a bridge in Smyth County after a local fallen trooper.
If passed, the bill, introduced by Sen. Mark Peake, of the 22nd District, would designate the bridge on I-81 in Smyth County over Whitetop Road as the Trooper Lucas B. Dowell Bridge.
Recommended Videos
Dowell died in a shootout while trying to serve a drug-related warrant on Monday, Feb. 4.
Just before 10 p.m. that night, a Virginia State Police tactical team was helping the Piedmont Regional Drug and Gang Task Force executive a drug-related search warrant at a home in Cumberland County right outside of Farmville.
When officers went inside, 44-year-old Corey Johnson started shooting at them. Officers fired back, killing Johnson, but one of their own, Dowell, was hit and later died from his injuries.