Colorado State Trooper Fatally Hit on Highway

Eric Peter Henderson, 52, of Peyton, was booked into the Douglas County Jail just before 7 a.m. Monday on suspicion of vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of a deadly accident, driving under the influence and careless driving causing death, according to jail records. He was being held on $1 million bond.

The trooper who died has been identified as 33-year-old Jaimie Jursevics, according to a State Patrol news release Monday morning.

Jursevics, who is survived by her husband and young child, joined the State Patrol in 2011 and transferred to Castle Rock three years later, the State Patrol said.

Jursevics was investigating a crash on the southbound side of the interstate about 8:50 p.m. when she was hit and killed, State Patrol said.

The vehicle that hit her fled south on I-25 and was stopped on Spruce Mountain Road, where Henderson was taken into custody by Palmer Lake police, according to a release from the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.

Southbound I-25 was closed from Plum Creek Parkway to Tomah Road from the time of the crash until early Monday.

Troopers lined up outside patrol offices in Castle Rock and saluted as a coroner's procession passed.

Henderson retired from the Army in June 2013 after a 27-year career, according to a news release.

In his last post, Henderson was the chief of operations for the Army's Space and Missile Defense Command in Colorado Springs.

The Peterson Air Force Base command oversees Army space operations and controls the nation's ground-based missile defense system that has interceptor missiles in silos in Alaska and California. Henderson was in charge of day-to-day plans.

Before that, Henderson had served on a space support team, helping the 4th Infantry Division use communication and navigation satellites.

Copyright 2015 - The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.)

Tribune News Service