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Drunk driving is a massive menace on the roads of Virginia. Almost a third of all road deaths in the Commonwealth are caused by alcohol or drugs. Police brought a DUI manslaughter charge after a fatal I-64 wreck in Hampton this weekend.
Police said 19-year-old Kelly Anne Tabaniag of Newport News lost her life in a crash at about 8.40 p.m. on Friday night.
She was a backseat passenger in a Toyota Corolla that had stopped in the left shoulder of I-64 in Hampton. The car’s driver was attempting to merge back into traffic when it was struck from behind by a Toyota Tacoma pickup.
Police said three out of the four people in the Corolla sustained serious injuries. Sadly, Ms. Tabaniag did not survive her injuries. Our thoughts are with her family after this tragedy.
Virginia State Police said the pickup crashed into the back of the Toyota Corolla causing the fatal I-64 wreck in Hampton near Cunningham Drive.
The 24-year-old driver of the pickup from Hayes, and his passenger were taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to Virginia State Police.
Alcohol contributed to the accident, according to troopers. The driver was later charged with DUI manslaughter and reckless driving.
The fatal I-64 wreck in Hampton was not the only death in Hampton Roads this weekend.
A 41-year-old man died and another man was injured in an accident involving a four-wheeler ATV early Sunday morning in Chesapeake. The tragedy occurred in the 2200 block of Mt. Pleasant Road around 2:40 a.m., according to police.
The driver of the ATV was pronounced dead at the scene. Police say the passenger on the four-wheeler was taken to a local hospital for treatment of injuries.
Alcohol is linked to about 30 percent of fatal accidents in Virginia every year. In 2017, Virginia recorded 248 fatal crashes linked to drunk driving, a 5.3 percent decrease on 2016. In all, 7,285 crashes were caused by drunk drivers last year.
However, drunk drivers still cause untold misery. Earlier this year, a man was jailed for 47 years for the horrific drunk driving crash that killed Great Bridge High School senior Kaitlyn Duffy and permanently injured her best friend and classmate.
Circuit Court Judge H. Thomas Padrick handed down the maximum sentence to Jerode D. Johnson – even though sentencing guidelines recommended between five and 11 years.
Judge Padrick said the tragedy in Virginia Beach was entirely preventable.
Mundorff started classes at Virginia Tech in 2018. However, she was left battling the effects of a traumatic brain injury, arm and emotional wounds and limited mobility, injuries that family members said were unlikely to fully heal.
Find out more about drunk driving in Virginia on our website. If you have lost a loved one or been injured due to the actions of an intoxicated driver, please call us today at (757) 455-0077. If you have consumed alcohol, never take the risk of driving. Appoint a designated driver or take an Uber, a taxi or a Lyft.