On a cold February evening in 2006, Virginia State Trooper Kevin Carder Manion, a 27-year-old male, was on duty in Clarke County, Virginia. He was assisting a fellow trooper at the scene of a single-vehicle accident on Route 649. A pickup truck had gone into a ditch and overturned. As the troopers were investigating the crash, a rifle inside the cab of the truck discharged as the vehicle was being moved.
The single round from the rifle struck Trooper Manion in the chest, in an area not
protected by his ballistic vest. He was flown to Inova Fairfax Hospital but ultimately succumbed to the wound on February 18, 2006. He had served with the Virginia State Police for just under three years.
The two occupants of the pickup truck were arrested at the scene on alcohol-related charges connected to the accident. Further investigation revealed that the rifle that killed Trooper Manion had been stolen earlier that day during a residential burglary.
The driver of the pickup truck was subsequently charged with second-degree murder, possession of a firearm by a felon, larceny of a firearm, and daytime breaking and entering. In December 2006, the driver pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in the trooper's death.
