A rear-end collision left one woman dead in Richmond, Virginia (VA), early in the morning of April 22, 2016. The deadly crash happened at around 1:20 am on Brook Road, and the driver police identified as being at fault survived with serious injuries.
According to police and eyewitness reports, the impact of the crash sent the lead car off the road and into a utility pole. The secondary crash appears to have inflicted the fatal injuries to the innocent driver. Charges are pending against the driver of the trailing car, but details on what the criminal consequences of causing the wreck could be were not released to the public in the hours after the incident.
Investigators also did not discuss the reasons for the rear-end collision in downtown Richmond near Virginia Union University. Considering the time, two possible explanations are that the at-fault driver was driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs or that the driver was falling asleep at the wheel and failing to pay attention to the flow of traffic.
Whatever set the stage for the deadly rear-ender, the lesson all drivers must learn from this accident is that they should never allow themselves to take their eyes and minds off the road. Even momentarily lapse of attention and brief losses of control can create irreversible tragedies.
EJL