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Save This PageThree members of a Canadian family were killed and two injured on Interstate 77 on Thursday when their sport utility vehicle, carrying the family to a Myrtle Beach vacation, crossed the median and was struck by a tractor-trailer.
Their deaths were three of 15 fatalities reported by state police this week on Virginia roads. A father and mother and a 7-year-old daughter died in the wreck, which occurred in Wythe County.
Virginia State Police said two other daughters riding in the SUV were injured. One, a 10-year-old, was flown in serious condition to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina. Another, 4 years old, was taken to the same hospital by ambulance. She was in stable condition, said State Police Sgt. Michael Conroy.
Conroy said the crash occurred shortly before 7 p.m. The southbound SUV, driven by William Smith, 33, of Hamilton, Ontario, was pulling a 35-foot camper that began fishtailing, Conroy said.
The SUV then veered into the median and crossed into a northbound lane, directly into the path of the tractor-trailer.
The truck driver suffered minor injuries.
"It's still under investigation, but maybe the towed vehicle contributed to the accident," Conroy said. "We had witnesses who say the camper just started moving back and forth."
Killed were Smith; his wife, Sandra, 35; and daughter Kaylee.
Investigators have not been able to determine yet whether the family members were wearing seat belts. "There was so much damage," Conroy said, "we might not be able to tell conclusively."
Early Thursday, a three-vehicle crash on Interstate 95 in Stafford County killed John E. Forrest, 58, of Carthage, N.C.
Forrest was traveling south on Interstate 95 about 2½ miles north of state Route 610, when he struck a tractor-trailer in the rear, police said. The tractor-trailer then struck a sport utility vehicle. Forrest died at the scene at 2:30 a.m., police said; he was wearing a seat belt.
Also Thursday, Brandon Scott Dalton of Gretna died in a two-vehicle crash in Pittsylvania County.
Dalton, 31, was on state Route 40 just west of state Route 642 when his pickup truck ran off the road, overcorrected and crossed into oncoming traffic. His vehicle was struck by another pickup truck, and he died at the scene at 8:46 a.m., police said.
He was not wearing a seat belt, authorities said.
Five people died in various crashes statewide on Wednesday:
Heath's truck turned off state Route 604 onto U.S. 13, heading north in the southbound lane, striking a pickup truck head-on. He died at the scene at 12:18 p.m., police said.
He was not wearing a seat belt, authorities said.
Adams, 24, was eastbound on state Route 24 just east of state Route 608 when his pickup truck went off the road, struck two trees and burst into flames.
Farfan-Gillen, 35, was a passenger in a pickup truck on state Route 3000 that was struck by a car turning from Worth Avenue at 1:15 p.m., police said. The truck overturned and he died at the scene 20 minutes later, police said.
He was wearing a seat belt, police said.
Tilghman, 48, was traveling south on Route 13 at its intersection with Washington Street when the crash occurred shortly after 5 p.m., police said. He was wearing a helmet, authorities said.
Johnson, 30, was traveling west on Interstate 64 about a mile west of Greenbrier Parkway when her motorcycle struck a guardrail at 8 p.m. She died at the scene, police said.
She was wearing a helmet, police said.
On Tuesday, three Spotsylvania County men died in a three-car wreck in Spotsylvania.
Dale S. Hitt Jr., 34, the driver, and two passengers, Alexander E. Cole, 20, and William J. Meade, 22, died shortly after the 2 p.m. crash, state police said.
Hitt, Cole and Meade were in a car on state Route 606 just west of state Route 645 when it crossed the road's double line and struck another car, police said. Both vehicles landed in a ditch, with a third car striking one of the cars and landing in the opposite ditch, police said.
Also on Tuesday, a 10-month-old child died from injuries she received Sunday in a crash in Lancaster County, police said.
A car carrying Desiree M. Speight of Lancaster overturned on state Route 354 less than a mile from state Route 624. She died at VCU Medical Center, police said.
An Appomattox woman died Tuesday of injuries she received the previous day in a single-car crash in Appomattox County.
Diane S. Stephens, 52, was traveling east on U.S. 460 when her car overturned and she was ejected about 2:40 p.m. She died the next afternoon at a Lynchburg-area hospital, police said.
She had not been wearing a seat belt, police said.
The fatalities brought the 2008 death toll on Virginia roads to 387, compared with 471 at the same time last year.
Contact Linda Dunham at (804) 775-8126 or ldunham@timesdispatch.com.
Contact Rex Bowman at (540) 344-3612 or rbowman@timesdispatch.com.
