Lewis County residents paid tribute to fallen Washington State Patrol Trooper Justin Schaffer by organizing a convoy of hundreds of vehicles to show respect while maintaining social distance.
Trooper Schaffer died March 24 after being hit by a driver fleeing law enforcement along Interstate 5 during rush hour.
"With the current prohibitions on gatherings, we are simply unable to respond in the same timeline as we have to previous tragedies," WSP representative Chris Loftis said in an email. "But rest assured our agency will continue to honor him appropriately while attending to the needs of his family as he did for the citizens of our state."
Community members took to Facebook to ensure Schaffer received a proper memorial, despite the stay at home order.
WSP PIO Sgt Darren Wright shared the following ways to help Trooper Schaffer's family:
The Schaffer family has requested the WSP Memorial Foundation handle all monetary donations. 100% of all of these donations will go directly to the family.
There are 3 ways the Schaffer family has approved making a donation.
1 – Go into any Chase Bank Branch and make a deposit into the “Washington State Patrol Memorial Foundation” account. “Schaffer Family Donation” should be noted on the check note line.
2 – Using your own bank, you can log in online or through your mobile app and make a donation using Zelle. Donations can be sent to our WSPMF number, 360-597-4411, or email, wspmemorialfoundation@gmail.com and all donations received will be held for Sandra. There are no fees with using Zelle.
3 – You can mail a check made out to WSPMF with “Schaffer Family Donation” on the note line to:
WSPMF
PO Box 7544
Olympia, WA 98507
Any flowers, cards or other items can be sent to or dropped off at the Chehalis WSP Office at 850 NW Louisiana Ave Chehalis WA. 98532