An SUV packed with 10 students was traveling down Turkey Hill Road near Bethany Road in Rockbridge County, Virginia (VA) when a tragic wreck ensued. The driver of the vehicle ran off the road and wound up hitting a tree stump which led to the vehicle overturning.
Multiple injuries were reported and two of the injured victrims had to be airlifted to UVA Medical Center and one to Roanoke Memorial Hospital. To make matters even worse, a young woman named Kelsey Durkin (ABC13 News article, 12-06-13) lost her life in the wreck. She was only 21 years old and on track to graduate from Washington and Lee University in the spring of 2014.
Our deepest condolences go out to the Durkin family. As the father of teenage children, my heart truly goes out to the parents. Losing a loved one is always heartbreaking, but the pain is that much worse when the loss is sudden and completely unexpected. If that wasn’t bad enough, the Durkin family also had to come to grips with losing a loved one who was so young and had their whole life ahead of them. In this tragic case, Ms. Durkin had a bright future ahead of her, but that future was taken by the careless actions of an intoxicated driver.
The driver of the SUV is facing charges of DUI and Refusal.