Friday, October 30WATCHFUL EYE

Traffic

Police-involved crash in James City County sends officer & teen to hospital
No Comments
Traffic

Police-involved crash in James City County sends officer & teen to hospital

The Christmas Eve closure of the intersection at Richmond Road and Rochambeau Drive in James City County was due to a police-involved crash that sent two people to the hospital. According to the findings of a preliminary investigation conducted by Virginia State Police, at approximately 6:00 p.m., a JCC officer was going east on Rt. 60 (Rochambeau Drive) heading through the stop light at Richmond Rd. A pickup truck driven by Marvin Lima-Ortega, disregarded a red light from the left turn lane, cutting in front of the officer, VSP stated. The JCC officer didn’t have time to react and t-boned the pickup. Upon impact, a 17-year-old male passenger in the pickup truck was thrown from the vehicle. Shortly after the incident, James City County Police Dept. stated that its officer and the tee...
Read More
Driver seriously injured in New Kent turn-over crash
No Comments
News, Traffic

Driver seriously injured in New Kent turn-over crash

The driver of the tractor-trailer that overturned on Pocahontas Trail in New Kent on Tuesday was seriously injured, Virginia State Police Sgt. Jessica Shehan confirmed. The incident occurred around 2 p.m. near the 4100 block of Pocahontas Trail (Route 60) just west of Toe Ink Wayside. Shehan said the driver, Santos Adan Rios Reyes, a 49-year-old Manassas Park man, stated he crashed because he took his eyes off the roadway to grab something inside the vehicle. After he ran off the roadway, he over corrected, overturned and his load spilled in the road. The incident shut down all lanes of Pocahontas Trail eastbound near Toe Ink Wayside with VSP estimating the cleanup to be over 3 hours. Reyes was transported to the hospital. Shehan reported that he was not wearing a seatbelt ...
Read More
VDOT testing parking space availability app in Northern VA, could expand to Fredericksburg
No Comments
News, Traffic

VDOT testing parking space availability app in Northern VA, could expand to Fredericksburg

VDOT is testing the ParkZen app at select parking lots in Northern Virginia and those who participate are eligible for a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card. ParkZen is an app that shows the availability of parking spaces in real time. VDOT began testing the app last month. The hope is making it easier to find parking in commuter lots will encourage more people to park and carpool or take public transit. "Commuters have told us that not knowing whether parking is available at commuter lots is a deterrent to using transit, carpools, vanpools, and slugging,” said Amy McElwain, program manager for VDOT’s Office of Strategic Innovations. “We know that taking the guesswork out of parking makes it easier for commuters to get out of their single-occupant vehicles. However, the challenge ha...
Read More
One of two hit-and-run drivers in fatal Fauquier crash arrested
No Comments
News, Traffic

One of two hit-and-run drivers in fatal Fauquier crash arrested

An arrest has been made in the case of Garland J. Heddings, a 73-year-old pedestrian killed in Fauquier County after reportedly getting hit on Elk Run Rd. by southbound and northbound hit-and-run drivers. Virginia State Police, which had called on the public to assist in the investigation, announced Dennis D. Dunning, 54, of Catlett, is one of the suspected drivers. VSP said Dunning was located at his residence on Burwell Road in Fauquier and taken into custody on Wednesday, Nov. 13, without incident. Dunning is charged with felony hit-and-run, involuntary manslaughter, and operating a vehicle without an ignition interlock. He’s being held at Fauquier Adult Detention Center without bond. Dunning’s arraignment for this morning was continued, court records show. Currently, his ne...
Read More
Fiery crash on I-95 in Caroline requires all day response. Here’s what happened
No Comments
News, Traffic

Fiery crash on I-95 in Caroline requires all day response. Here’s what happened

A fiery multi-vehicle crash in Caroline shut down portions of I-95 all day on Thursday, caused major congestion in the Fredericksburg region, and required emergency road repairs. The crash occurred before 6:30 a.m. on I-95 South at the 108 mile marker. A FedEx tractor-trailer was merging onto I-95 from the rest area and collided with a tractor-trailer hauling trash, Virginia State Police reported. That truck crash created a chain reaction crash involving three other vehicles, and a fire erupted from the impact at the scene, VSP added. (Photo: VDOT) (Photo: VSP) Initially, VDOT announced all northbound lanes and two southbound lanes at the 108 mile marker were closed. Drivers on both sides of the interstate were advised to take alternate routes. As the 8 o’clock hour approach...
Read More
1 killed, 1 airlifted from 6-vehicle crash in King William
No Comments
News, Traffic

1 killed, 1 airlifted from 6-vehicle crash in King William

On Monday, a tragic six-vehicle crash involving two tractor-trailers claimed the life of a Ruther Glen truck driver. The incident occurred on Rt. 30 in King William around 3:30 p.m. According to Virginia State Police, 35-year-old Brian Winston Carroll was headed westbound on King William Road in a 2023 International tractor-trailer. He was about two miles west of the Richmond Tappahannock Highway when he crossed the center line of the two-lane roadway and crashed into another tractor-trailer, a 2020 International. VSP said the impact of the crash between the two tractor-trailers triggered "a chain reaction style crash" involving four additional vehicles, including a box truck. Carroll died at the scene as a result of his injuries. VSP confirmed that he was wearing a...
Read More
76-year-old killed in residential crash in Accomack
No Comments
News, Traffic

76-year-old killed in residential crash in Accomack

A 76-year-old Melfa man was killed after crashing into a house in Accomack on Monday sometime shortly before 6:30 p.m., Virginia State Police announced. Based on the preliminary investigation, it appears Napoleon Claude Coles was driving a 2010 Buick Lucerne that crashed into the corner of a two-story brick residence at 33372 Lankford Highway in the Painter area, VSP stated. Coles was found unresponsive and medics pronounced him dead at the scene. VSP said this was a single-vehicle incident. And it doesn’t appear that alcohol or speed were factors in the crash, but the incident is still under investigation. SEE: Footage of Hit & Run Crash in Powhatan (VIDEO) Follow the Watchful Eye on Twitter, Facebook, & Instagram to keep up with what’s...
Read More
York County crash sends trooper to hospital
No Comments
News, Traffic

York County crash sends trooper to hospital

A state trooper was hospitalized this morning after his vehicle was hit during a traffic stop, Virginia State Police reported. Trooper B. Nicholson was reportedly stopped on a closed shoulder of I-64 at the 236 mile marker in York County. He had just completed a traffic stop and returned to his patrol vehicle, a 2021 Ford Explorer, which was marked and had all the emergency equipment activated according to VSP. Johnnie Ray Davis, a 63-year-old Hayes man, was driving a 2000 Ford Contour and allegedly sideswiped Nicholson’s patrol vehicle. The carthat allegedly hit Nicholson's patrol vehicle (Photo: VSP) VSP said Nicholson it was approximately 3:13 a.m. when Nicholson contacted the emergency communications center and reported that his vehicle had been hit and he was injured. T...
Read More
Tractor-trailer crash shut down I-81, dozens of cows dead
No Comments
News, Traffic

Tractor-trailer crash shut down I-81, dozens of cows dead

At one point on Sunday, both the north and southbound lanes of I-81 between the mile markers 291 and 296 were shut down indefinitely. The cause was a tractor-trailer crash in Shenandoah County that is now being investigated by Virginia State Police. According to VSP public information officer Sgt. Brent Coffey, it was a single-vehicle incident. Around 4 a.m., the truck was heading northbound on I-81 hauling 105 cattle. The driver, Shawn E. Alford, 59, of Grottoes, ran off the left side of the road and the truck hit a guardrail then flipped over. (Photo: SCSO) Citizens, the Shenandoah County Sheriff's Office, and VDOT all worked to contain loose cattle after the crash. But 42 of the cows didn’t survive, Coffey reported. A veterinarian was called to the scene and had to euthanize 10...
Read More
VSP investigating fatal motorcycle crash on I-495 in Alexandria
No Comments
Traffic

VSP investigating fatal motorcycle crash on I-495 in Alexandria

Virginia State Police is investigating a fatal motorcycle crash that occurred over the weekend. Just before 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28, Michael A. Dart, of Washington, DC, was on a 2012 Yamaha YZF-R1 heading westbound on I-495 in Alexandria, VSP reported. At the 177 mile marker, his motorcycle hit the driver-side rear corner of a Toyota 4Runner, bounced off, and hit a third vehicle, VSP stated. Dart and his motorcycle were thrown to the left shoulder and both crashed into the jersey wall. Dart, who was 20, was taken to a local hospital, but VSP said he died from his injuries. The driver of the 4Runner wasn’t injured. However, the third vehicle involved left the scene, and VSP said, currently, the make and model is unknown. WATCH: Footage of Hit & Run in Powhatan ...
Read More