An on-duty Maryland State Police trooper was killed in a crash in Howard County early Saturday.
The crash happened at about 2:40 a.m. on Interstate 95 near Route 32, in Laurel, state police said. Police said preliminary information indicates that Trooper First Class Shaft Hunter, 39, may have been pursuing a speeding motorcycle when he crashed into a tractor-trailer that was parked on the shoulder of the highway.
Hunter, a Marine Corps veteran who has worked for the state police for 11 years, struck the rear of the trailer, then traveled along the trailer’s side. He was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, police said.
The trailer driver, 46-year-old Albert Sandino, of Covina, Calif., was not injured.
Hunter was assigned to the Waterloo Barrack and was working a night patrol shift when the collision occurred.
“TFC Hunter was an outstanding trooper who was known for his dedication to duty,” Colonel Terrence Sheridan, the state police superintendent, said in a statement. “He died while working to keep our highways safe.”
Hunter was born in Bridgeport, Conn., and graduated from St. Augustine College in North Carolina. He served the Marines from 1994 to 2000. He has six children.
Hunter is the 43rd Maryland trooper to die on duty, according to state police.
