by Justin Anderson, Kelly Holleran & Jessica Karmasek
Charleston Daily Mail
Read Officer Down: Justin Thompson
Boon County, W. Va. — A Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department deputy who recently returned from military duty in Iraq died in a single vehicle accident on U.S. Route 119.
The accident that killed Sgt. Justin A. Thompson occurred between 11 and 11:30 p.m. near the Wash Creek exit in Boone County.
Thompson was working in the area where his accident occurred and was heading home, said Lincoln County Chief Deputy G.K. Hensley.
Thompson was driving south when he lost control of the cruiser, hit a guardrail and flipped over, said Capt. G.J. Spangler of Troop 5 with the Logan detachment of the West Virginia State police.
Thompson was ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene, Spangler said.
No one witnessed the accident, Spangler said.
Thompson, 25, had served on the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department for about five years and had just returned from Iraq, where he served in the Marine Corps reserve for about one year, said Lincoln County Sheriff Jerry Bowman.
Thompson grew up in Harts Creek and graduated from Harts High School, Bowman said.
His mother, father and grandmother all still live there, Hensley said. Thompson has one brother who lives in Huntington, he said.
He was not married and did not have any children, Bowman said.
“He was an excellent deputy,” Bowman said. “He was dedicated. He was a very personal friend to all of us.”
Thompson was one of the youngest deputies at the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department, said Denna Cermeans, a tax clerk for the Sheriff’s department.
“He was our big baby,” she said. “Everybody loved him. It just isn’t real. He had a smile that could light up the world.”
West Virginia State Police Sr. Trooper L. Boytek knew Thompson because he normally patrolled the Harts Creek area where Thompson lived. He had worked with Thompson for the past four and a half years.
“He was a real fine boy,” Boytek said.
Thompson was very energetic and well thought of at the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department, Hensley said.
“He was one of those types of people that everybody loved,” Hensley said.
Since the sheriff’s department was so small, all the deputies were a tight knit group of friends, and everyone will miss Thompson very much, Bowman said.
“We’re just very sorry about what happened,” he said.
The Boone County Sheriff’s department is still investigating the accident.
Copyright 2007 Charleston Daily Mail