SNOHOMISH COUNTY, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – The Washington State Patrol and law enforcement agencies around the state are mourning one of their own after a trooper was hit and killed by a driver on I-5 near Marysville early Saturday.

The State Patrol reports Trooper Christopher M. Gadd died in the collision on I-5 southbound at 136th Street NE. He was 27-years-old and a two-year veteran of the Patrol.

Investigators say Trooper Gadd’s patrol vehicle was parked on the shoulder at about 3 a.m. when the driver veered off the freeway at a high rate of speed and rear-ended it.

That driver, a 32-year-old Lynnwood man, was transported to a hospital in Everett and evaluated for injuries and possible intoxication.

He was then booked into the Snohomish County Jail on suspicion of vehicular homicide.

A van with six people on board was also involved in the collision. That driver was taken to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries while the passengers weren’t hurt.

Trooper Gadd leaves behind his wife Cammryn and their two-year-old daughter.