Man charged with killing Ohio trooper on Cleveland freeway

The Ohio State Highway Patrol is mourning the loss of Trooper Kenneth Velez, of the Cleveland Post, after he passed away Thursday afternoon following a traffic crash near Lakewood, Ohio in Cuyahoga County.

The spokesman says Gaspar was arrested for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs at the time of the accident.

Ohio State Highway Patrol Superintendent, Colonel Paul Pride, stated that Velez soon departure was a tragedy for the OSHP and the Department of Public Safety.

According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol media release, the accident happened at 12:52 p.m. Velez was outside his patrol vehicle while conducting a traffic stop in the westbound lane of I-90 near McKinley Ave.

The Highway Patrol on Friday said 37-year-old Joshua Gaspar, of Columbia Station, has been charged with aggravated vehicular homicide.

A trooper was fatally struck while he was outside of his patrol auto this afternoon on Interstate 90 near Cleveland. “Our prayers go out to the Velez family during this hard time”.

The man was transported to the Goodland Regional Medical Center and then flown to a hospital in Denver.

Velez, 48, had been with the patrol since 1989.

The 26-year veteran of the force is survived by three children.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reports at 8:10 a.m. they received a call from someone saying there was a vehicle stopped on I-70 at milepost 29 eastbound, 2 miles east of Edson, Kansas.