Car and Truck Driver Die Are Killed on the Same Day in Southwest Virginia

Two separate car crashes recently claimed the lives of drivers in Southwest Virginia with crashes reported on Tuesday in Wise County and Buchanan County.

Times News reported a wreck in Wise County at around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday on State Route 646, otherwise known as Coeburn Mountain Road, less than a mile east of State Route 801. Virginia State Police reported that 46-year-old Linda R. Franklin, was driving a Mitsubishi Galant east on 646 when it crossed the center line and entered a westbound lane and into the path of a 2007 Jeep Cherokee Laredo.

Head-on crashes are among the most serious we see in our work as Virginia auto accident lawyers. I was sad to read that Franklin died at the scene. Jeep driver, Patricia I. Rose, 57 of Nora, was transported by ambulance to Norton Community Hospital. Her injuries were reported to be “serious but non-life threatening.”

If you are hurt in an accident caused by a driver who loses control and crosses a center line, you may have grounds to file a claim against that driver’s insurance policy.

On the same day in Buchanan County, Virginia State Police reported a single vehicle accident claimed the life of a Cedar Bluff man.

A witness reported heavy smoke coming from underneath a tractor trailer as it went downhill on State Route 680 at around 8:40 a.m. As the big rig attempted to round a curve at the bottom of the hill, the it hit a utility pole, a road sign, a railroad bridge and then started to flip over, said state police.

It veered off the right side of the road, plunged down an embankment and ended up in in Dismal Creek. Dennis D. Mills, the 59-year-old truck driver, was partially ejected from the cab and died at the scene.

The truck was carrying a full load of rock dust. Media reports suggested the rig caught fire underneath moments before the crash that remains under investigation. Often we see hazardous loads on trucks or improperly loaded trucks causing accidents that result in serious injuries or a loss of life.

Along with my colleague Jim Hurley, I wrote The Best Book About Virginia Trucking Accidents. See our FAQs about trucking accidents in Virginia. Call Cooper Hurley at 757.455.0077.