The officers and members of the Sterling Volunteer Rescue Squad send our heartfelt condolences and prayers to the families, friends, and colleagues of Virginia State Police Lieutenant Jay Cullen and Trooper-Pilot Berke M.M. Bates who were killed when their helicopter crashed just outside of Charlottesville, VA while supporting activities during weekend demonstrations in that city. In addition, our condolences go out to the friends and family of the 32-year-old woman who was killed when a driver crashed his vehicle into a crowd during the demonstrations.

Members of the Sterling Volunteer Rescue Squad (Virginia Task Force 8) were on scene during the weekend demonstrations representing the Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services (OEMS) as part of the Health and Medical Emergency Response Team. Sterling Rescue provided two (2) EMS transport units for the event, working side-by-side with personnel from Charlottesville-Albemarle, Harrisonburg, Petersburg, and Palmyra, as well as public service personnel (fire and law enforcement) from across the Commonwealth of Virginia. Personnel were on-scene until the Task Force was demobilized early Sunday morning (13 August). Our thanks go out to OEMS, the City of Charlottesville, and the Charlottesville-Albemarle Rescue Squad for their support during our deployment.