Correctional Officer Hopkins was killed when the corrections van he was driving was struck by a drunk driver.

On Aug 20, 1998 at about 9:00 am, Officer Hopkins was transporting 12 prisoners on I-70 to prison in Fulton when another vehicle crossed the center line and struck the corrections van, which overturned several times before landing on it's roof in the eastbound lanes. Officer Hopkins was ejected from the vehicle and pinned beneath. A second officer was injured and the driver of a vehicle behind the corrections van was also killed. The drunk driver was arrested and faced 16 felony charges including 14 counts of second degree assault, and involuntary manslaughter. The driver had twice been previously convicted of DUI.

Officer Hopkins had been with the agency for five years and is the first corrections officer killed in St. Louis County in 28 years. Interred: Calvary Cemetery and Mausoleum, Saint Louis, MO.