Four Deaths In Weather-Related Crashes In Virginia

HAMPTON, Va. - Four people lost their lives in four separate weather-related traffic accidents in Virginia during this latest storm. 

Virginia State Police say a Hampton, Virginia man died in a single-vehicle crash in Hampton on Wednesday afternoon. A Chevrolet Malibu was on a ramp from Hampton Roads Center Parkway to westbound Interstate 64 when it ran off the right side of the road. The car struck a light pole and then struck a tree. The driver, Christopher E. Wright, 28, of Hampton, died at the scene. He was not wearing a seatbelt. Police say the crash, was caused by a combination of speed and wet road conditions. 

Police say another Virginia man was killed early Thursday morning on Route 56 in Nelson County. It happened at 4:35 a.m.  A 1994 Ford Ranger pickup truck traveling east on Route 56 struck a large tree that had fallen across the road. The driver left his vehicle to survey the damage. A tractor-trailer traveling in the eastbound lane swerved to avoid the pickup and struck the driver. The driver of the Ford Ranger, Alger H. Fleming, 66, of Amherst, Va., died at the scene. The driver of the tractor-trailer was not injured. No charges will be filed.

A Massachusetts woman was killed and three others were injured on the Eastern Shore in a single vehicle crash on Route 13 early Thursday morning. That accident happened shortly after 8:00 a.m. just north of the town of Nassawadox. A 2006 Toyota Scion was southbound on Route 13 when the driver ran off the road and into the median. The vehicle briefly entered the northbound lane, went back into the median and overturned several times. A passenger was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene. The driver and two other passengers were taken by ambulance a nearby hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Police say the woman who died, identified as Yesenia Rivera, 30, of Waltham, Mass., was not wearing a seatbelt. The driver and remaining passengers were wearing seatbelts.  

Then  just after 8:30 a.m. Thursday, another woman died in a crash on Route 258 in Isle of Wight County. The driver of a 1986 Ford Thunderbird was traveling southbound on Route 258 when the driver attempted to pass the vehicle in front and was hit by a northbound tractor-trailer head-on. The driver of the vehicle died at the scene. 

She was identified by police as Amy C. Pippin, 26, of Smithfield, Va.  Her 3 year old son and 6 year old daughter were taken by ambulance to a hospital in Suffolk and were later flown to Norfolk Sentara with life-threatening injuries. The driver of the tractor-trailer was taken by ambulance to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. All of the individuals were wearing seatbelts.

The tractor-trailer was carrying a load of livestock when the collision occurred. Several animals were killed as a result of that collision.