Just two nights before Christmas, a deadly crash occurred on U.S. 17 in Virginia, leaving one man dead and another fleeing on foot from the scene. Virginia State Police are now actively searching for the man they say was responsible for the fatal car accident.
A little after 6 p.m. on Dec. 23, a person driving a Toyota was heading south on Route 17 when the driver of a Ford pickup truck rear-ended the vehicle, pushing it into the path of another car heading south. Both the Toyota and the pickup truck veered off to the side of the roadway.
The frightening incident happened slightly south of State Route 28 in Fauquier County.
Fatal motor vehicle accidents are, unfortunately, not unusual during the holidays. However, in this traumatic crash, authorities allege the 32-year-old driver of the pickup truck ran from the scene of the accident before police arrived. State police now have a felony hit-and-run warrant for the man’s arrest.
The 58-year-old man who was behind the wheel of the Toyota died at the scene of the crash. His 59-year-old passenger survived, but sustained serious injuries and had to be transported to Inova Fairfax hospital for treatment. The person in the third car was thankfully uninjured.
Police are now focusing their attention on catching the driver of the pickup truck, whose last known residence was in Culpeper County.
In Virginia, a hit-and-run offense is a felony when an accident involves a death or injury. It is also a serious offense when more than $1,000 worth of property damage is caused in a wreck.
The Fauquier County crash led to both death and serious injury; survivors and family members must now deal with the additional burdens of funeral expenses, medical expenses, mental pain and suffering, an ongoing investigation, and not least of all, the loss of a loved one.
Source: Fredericksburg.com, “Warrant issued in fatal crash,” Cathy Dyson, Dec. 30, 2012
