THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 5, 1995 TAG: 9511050061
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MYLENE MANGALINDAN AND STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
A 12-year veteran of the Chesapeake police department died early Saturday when he was struck by a car along a narrow, dark stretch of South George Washington Highway.
It is the first time in 13 years that an officer has been killed in the line of duty in Chesapeake, said Elizabeth Jones, Chesapeake's police spokeswoman.
Shortly before 5 a.m., Officer Daniel Eugene Eaker was stopped along the highway near the intersection of Ballahack Road. He had pulled his police cruiser onto a gravel siding that leads to a nearby boat ramp.
``He had just cleared up from a call and was parked off the roadway, doing paper work,'' Jones said.
The driver of a northbound tractor trailer truck saw Eaker's police car and brought the rig to a stop in the road. He waved to the officer who walked over to the truck cab.
``The driver wanted to make some kind of report,'' Jones said. The officer and the driver spoke briefly and then Eaker ``stepped back and an oncoming car hit him.''
Eaker, 37, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The car, a Buick, went into a ditch after the accident and the driver, identified as William Taylor, 66, was hurt. He was taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital by the Nightingale helicopter ambulance. A passenger in the car was not seriously hurt.
Taylor has not been charged with any wrongdoing. ``It's simply an accident,'' Jones said.
The stretch of road where the accident occurred ``is very dark, very narrow,'' Jones said. There are deep drainage ditches on both sides of the road and virtually no shoulder. ``Where he was, he could not pull off the road,'' Jones said of the truck driver.
There are no street lights in the area and, additionally, Jones said the driver of the approaching car would have been heading into the headlights of the stopped truck. It's believed the driver had no way of seeing the officer in the road until it was too late.
``That's what we're assuming happened,'' she said.
A second accident occurred moments after the first when a woman who came upon the scene attempted to back up to get her vehicle out of the way. Another vehicle struck her car from behind. Jones said the drivers suffered minor injuries.
The last Chesapeake officer killed in the line of duty was Sgt. John H. Cherry, who died Sept. 27, 1982.
Cherry's name and those of five other Chesapeake and South Norfolk lawmen killed in the line of duty since 1926 are etched on a memorial at police headquarters at the Municipal Center in Great Bridge. On Saturday, that memorial was draped in black as it awaited the addition of Eaker's name.
Jones said a portrait of Eaker, also to be draped in black, will be placed in the lobby of police headquarters today. Fellow officers already were paying tribute to their comrade on Saturday. Throughout the city - as well as neighboring cities - officers wore narrow black bands across their badges.
He was appointed to the Chesapeake police department on Feb. 1, 1983, after serving four years in the Navy.
Eaker began his career in the uniform patrol section of the department. He was soon transferred to the identification unit as a crime scene technician.
Eaker was assigned to the uniform patrol section of the department at the time of his death. He served as a member of the Chesapeake police department underwater search and recovery unit.
During his career, Eaker received numerous letters of commendation from citizens and the department for his outstanding performance.
Eaker is survived by his wife, Monica, and one daughter, Vanessa.
Funeral arrangements are pending. MEMO: Staff writer Mike Mather contributed to this report.
ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Officer Daniel Eugene Eaker
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT TRAFFIC FATALITY INJURIES by CNB