From The Colorado State Patrol
Trooper
Jaimie L. Jursevics
November 15, 2015
DUI Driver Eric Henderson ran down trooper and left her bleeding on the highway and fled the scene like a coward; boozed it up at Broncos game
Eric-Henderson-52-year-old-retired-Army-colonel-was-later-charged-with-drunk-driving-and-vehicular-homicide-of-Colorado-Trooper.
During the evening of November 15, 2015, Trooper Jaimie Jursevics stopped her patrol vehicle on the inside shoulder of I-25 south of Castle Rock in an effort to protect the scene of a previous crash being investigated by a fellow Trooper. At approximately 2045 hours, Trooper Jursevics was notified of a possible drunk driver headed southbound on I-25. Trooper Jursevics made contact with the reporting party and learned the suspect vehicle was approaching her location. Trooper Jursevics immediately began attempts to flag down the suspect vehicle from outside her patrol car. Moments later, the reported drunk driver collided with Trooper Jursevics, killing her instantly. The suspect vehicle fled the scene but was apprehended by the Palmer Lake Police Department approximately 15 miles from the crash scene. The suspect was taken into custody and charged with vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of a fatal crash, driving under the influence and several other offenses.
Jursevics entered the Patrol January 9, 2011.
Trooper Jursevics was 33 years old. She is survived by her husband and an 8-month-old daughter.
Eric Peter Henderson, a retired Army colonel with a long history of service, is accused of drunk driving resulting in her death.
Jursevics was investigating a minor crash with another trooper near Plum Creek Parkway just before 9:30 p.m. Sunday when she was informed by dispatchers about a possible drunk driver, which was reported by another driver coming southbound on Interstate 25.
After getting the assignment from dispatchers, she called the driver who made the original report. According to an affidavit about Henderson’s arrest, that caller told the trooper he could see the lights on her vehicle. They were just seconds away.
“(The caller) could see the female trooper shining a flashlight toward the ground in the number one lane of the highway,” the affidavit states. “It appeared that Trooper Jursevics was attempting to direct the (possible DUI) vehicle to the side of the highway.”
However, the vehicle Henderson was allegedly driving did not stop or pull over. The witness reported seeing the trooper’s flashlight fly through the air when she was struck.
Still on the phone with Jursevics, the caller heard her scream as she was hit by the oncoming car.
Jursevics was lying in the middle of the road, face-down and bleeding, when the other trooper arrived. Emergency medical personnel arrived, but there was nothing they could do and she was pronounced dead there on the highway.
