Loved ones mourn 3 dead in Virginia
RICHMOND, Va. — The woman killed when a car plowed into a crowd of people protesting a white nationalist rally in Virginia was described as a “true American hero” who died doing what she loved — standing up for people.
Two state troopers also died when their helicopter crashed in a wooded area while deployed as part of a large-scale police effort to contain Saturday's violence. They were remembered for their commitment and love of their jobs.
Heather Heyer, 32, was among the hundreds of protesters who had gathered in Charlottesville to decry what was believed to be the largest gathering of white supremacists in a decade — including neo-Nazis, skinheads and Ku Klux Klan members — who descended on the city to rally against plans to remove a Confederate statue.
Felicia Correa, a longtime friend of Heyer, said the slain woman died standing up for people of color and called her a “true American hero.”
She said she spoke with Heyer's mother, who is struggling with the loss. “She said, 'Heather died doing what she loved — standing up for people,”' said Correa, who by early Sunday afternoon had raised about $125,000 for Heyer's family through an online fundraising drive.
Heyer grew up in Greene County and worked as a legal assistant at a law firm. Her boss, Larry Miller, said the young woman was active in the firm's bankruptcy practice and had a “big heart.”
“She cares about the people we take care of. Just a great person,” he said.
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said he was touched by the deaths of the two troopers, Lt. H. Jay Cullen and Trooper-Pilot Berke M.M. Bates, whom he knew personally. McAuliffe frequently uses state police aircraft to travel the state and said Cullen, 48, had been one of his regular pilots. Before joining the aviation unit, Bates had been a member of the state trooper team that guards the governor and his family.“It was personal to me,” McAuliffe said Sunday morning at a church service. “We were very close.”Cullen was a 23-year veteran of the department and head of the aviation unit. He is survived by his wife and two sons. Bates joined the department in 2004, and is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.“Both of them were great guys who loved what they were doing,” said Perry Benshoof, a retired trooper who worked with both.
