A suspect has yet to be identified in a hit-and-run crash that occurred in Dutton, Virginia (VA) on June 21. A white pickup truck reportedly collided with a motorcycle on Route 198 between 10:15 and 10:30 p.m., according to Virginia State Police.
The white pickup truck was traveling west on Route 198 / Buckley Hall Road when it attempted to turn left onto Route 3 / Windsor Road and hit a 1994 Harley Davidson motorcycle traveling the opposite direction on Route 198. The motorcyclist, 50-year-old Herbert Warren Dixon, collided with the passenger side of the truck where the truck bed and cab join. The impact caused Mr. Dixon to be thrown backward off the motorcycle.
Mr. Dixon was transported to the intensive care unit at Riverside Regional Hospital. The pickup truck fled the scene without stopping. Police said the driver of the truck definitely knew he had hit the motorcycle.
Unfortunately, witnesses were not able to provide information about the driver’s identity or license plate number, but the white truck may have paint from the motorcycle on it. Police are investigating the accident as a felony hit-and-run.
I sincerely hope Mr. Dixon will make a speedy and full recovery. I also hope the pickup truck driver is identified and held accountable for leaving the scene of an accident where a man was seriously injured. Thankfully, Mr. Dixon survived the crash, but he has a long road to recovery ahead of him.
There is never an excuse to flee the scene of an accident. Period. Unfortunately, many hit-and-run drivers are never identified. When a victim is left alone to deal with the physical and emotional injuries caused by an accident, he or she has that much more stress, when what is needed is rest and calm to recover. This is akin to adding injury to the injury.
What a victim of a hit-and-run crash may not know is that the costs of the accident are usually covered under the victim’s own insurance policy. An experienced Virginia personal injury attorney can help a victim receive the compensation he or she deserves by filing a claim based on the victim’s uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, which usually covers hit-and-run drivers, too. A successful claim can help a victim pay for medical bills and vehicle repairs, depending on the insurance policy limits. Moreover, an insurance premium will not increase as a result of an uninsured/underinsured motorist claim.
While a victim may never learn the identity of the person who caused the pain, compensation through his or her insurance policy can at least help ease the stress associated with the cost of an accident so the victim can focus on getting better.
AM