New York State Trooper Christopher Skinner was making what should have been a routine traffic stop on Interstate 81 in the Broome County Town of Chenango on May 29, 2014, when another motorist deliberately struck and killed the 13-year state police veteran.

On Wednesday, representatives from the state police and other law enforcement agencies, along with the state Department of Transportation and Skinner family members, gathered at the crash site between Castle Creek and Whitney Point in a private ceremony to mark the 10th anniversary of the tragedy.

Skinner, 42, of Kirkwood, was a member of the Troop C Traffic Incident Management Detail and was patrolling a construction zone along I-81 when he pulled over another vehicle.

While Skinner was interviewing the other driver, Florida resident Almond Upton, who reportedly had been driving more than 90 mph, swerved his vehicle over to the side of the road, striking the trooper and killing him instantly.

No motive was given for Upton’s actions, but his attorneys claimed he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and was going through a “manic episode” at the time.

Business Lockheed Martin helicopter program gets boost with funding, Intel partnership in Owego

More than two years after the fatal crash, Upton was convicted of first-degree murder following a trial in Broome County Court, and sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. Judge Joseph Cawley said during the sentencing Upton’s act was “nothing less than an assassination,” and a wanton killing “for absolutely no reason.”

Upton died Dec. 9, 2018 at the age of 64 while serving his sentence at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York.

Skinner, who had several children and was engaged to be married at the time of his death, was a Binghamton native and a 1989 graduate of Chenango Valley High School.

After graduating from SUNY Cobleskill in 1993, he worked for several years as a product support manager for CASE International. In 2001, Skinner graduated from the New York State Police Academy and was initially assigned to Troop G in Latham.

Since Skinner’s death, his memory has been kept alive through an annual blood drive. An I-81 bridge one mile north of the deadly crash was also named in his honor.

Follow Jeff Murray on Twitter @SGJeffMurray. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: State police mark 10th anniversary of trooper death in Broome County