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Wreck kills two in county
Infant and three adults injured
Don Hopkins, who lives near the scene of a fatal accident that happened Monday morning on U.S. 58, points to the area of the wreck several hours later. Two people were killed and another four injured in the 9:30 a.m. accident, the state police said. (Bulletin photo by Paul Collins)
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
By BULLETIN STAFF REPORTS -
A man and a woman were killed in an accident Monday morning on U.S. 58 in the Horsepasture area, according to the Virginia State Police.
Kathleen Ann Murray, 29, of Ridgeway, and William Roy Ingram, 34, of Martinsville, were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident on U.S. 58, about two-tenths of a mile east of Soapstone Road, according to a news release and Trooper Noah Knight.
The accident happened around 9:30 a.m. when Murray, who was driving a 1999 Ford Taurus, pulled out of a driveway onto U.S. 58, Knight said. A 2006 Ford E-250 work van was traveling east on U.S. 58, and the two collided, the trooper said.
“(The car allegedly) came out at an angle in front of the van, and the van hit it on the driver’s side,” Knight said. “He tried to avoid hitting, but it didn’t work.”
Knight said the van likely was in Murray’s blind spot when she pulled out of the driveway.
“If she was not turning her head — if she was trying to see out of her mirrors — she’d have never seen him,” Knight said.
There were five people, including Murray’s husband; Ingram; a 7-month-old boy; and a 41-year-old woman in the Taurus, Knight said.
Murray and Ingram, who was a passenger in the back seat on the driver’s side, were killed, Knight added.
Murray’s husband, whose name the trooper did not release, was taken to Memorial Hospital in Martinsville for treatment of injuries that did not appear life-threatening, the trooper said. The 41-year-old female passenger and the driver of the van, a man in his early 50s from Amherst County, also were taken to Memorial, Knight said. The man’s condition appeared serious, the trooper added.
The driver was the only person in the van, Knight said.
The names of the other victims were not available because next of kin had not been notified, Knight said.
The baby, who was in a car seat when the wreck happened, was flown to Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-Salem, N.C., for treatment, Knight said. Information about the child’s condition was not available Monday night.
Don Hopkins owns and lives above Stone Cross Mountain Museum, two doors down from the Murray home. He said he and his son, Jonathan Hopkins, were upstairs in their living quarters when they heard the collision.
“I’m very sorry to lose a neighbor. They were always nice to me,” Hopkins said. “I didn’t have a bit of trouble out of them.”
Hopkins added that the families helped one another if it was needed. “That’s what a good neighbor is for,” he said.
He said he thinks vehicles “run too fast” on that part of U.S. 58. “It’d be better if they slowed it down to 45 (mph),” he said of the speed limit, which is 55 mph in that area.
Kristina Hudson, who lives next door to the Murrays, said, “I was outside drinking coffee when I heard it (the collision).”
“I did not hear any brakes,” she said.
She said her neighbors “were very friendly. They seemed like really good people.” She described them as respectful, polite and nice.
Knight said it is unlikely that charges will be filed in connection with the accident.
Both vehicles were totaled, the trooper said. He estimated damage to the van at $14,000 and damage to the Taurus at $2,000.
The investigation is continuing, and Knight said he likely will reconstruct the accident today.
In addition to the state police, Stone Ambulance and the Horsepasture Volunteer Fire Department responded.
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