CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. – Virginia State Police will rename its Chesterfield Aviation Base at the Chesterfield County Airport in honor of Lt. Jay Cullen III, one of the two Troopers killed in a helicopter crash during the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville.
The 48-year-old Midlothian man and Trooper-Pilot Berke Bates, 40, were killed on August 12, 2017, when a Virginia State Police helicopter crashed into a wooded area near a home on Old Farm Road in Albemarle County.
Cullen and Bates were on their way to provide over-watch for the motorcade of then-Governor Terry McAuliffe.
Cullen had served out of the Chesterfield Aviation Base since his promotion to sergeant in 2005.
Virginia State Police will honor him during a dedication ceremony and sign unveiling on Wednesday, Feb. 7. The ceremony will be at 2 p.m. at the hangar, located at 7400 Airfield Drive, near Iron Bridge Road.
Lt. Cullen graduated from the Virginia State Police Academy in May 1994 as a member of the 90th Basic Session. He first joined the Virginia State Police Aviation Unit in 1999.
Cullen was survived by his wife and two sons.
