A collision between a Norfolk Southern train and a purportedly stolen 2015 Honda Accord in Fauquier County, Virginia, left the driver and a male passenger injured, and a female passenger dead.
Shortly after midnight on Wednesday morning, a Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office Deputy going southbound on U.S. Route 17 saw the 2015 Accord going 97 miles per hour northbound in a 55 miles per hour zone. After using the median to turn around, the deputy gave chase, according to an FCSO release on the incident.
The pursuing deputy would stop due to losing sight of the car near Marshall, Virginia, before then getting on U.S. Interstate 66 westbound, taking an exit, encountering the Accord at a light, nearly being hit, and then following the Accord back onto I-66 westbound.
The Accord’s driver, however, was going over 115 miles per hour, and the deputy once again lost sight of it. The officer kept going northbound and eventually reached the intersection of U.S. Route 17 and Rokeby Road.
There, the 2015 Honda had passed several cars waiting at the railroad crossing, and had struck a Norfolk Southern train at around 12:22 a.m. Upon arrival, the deputy extinguished a fire that had broken out in the car and called emergency response so as to render medical aid to the occupants of the Accord.
The car’s female passenger, Haidan Smallwood, 18, of Berryville, Virginia, was airlifted to INOVA Fairfax Hospital, where she would ultimately die of her injuries. Driver Jeremiah Greenfield, 19, of Winchester, Virginia, was also flown to INOVA Fairfax Hospital with serious injuries — his current condition has not been disclosed.
The car’s third passenger, Nakii Russell, 20, of Leesburg, Virginia, was treated for minor injuries at Winchester Medical Center. No one on the stricken train was injured in the incident.
The 2015 Accord, meanwhile, was found after the crash to have been reported stolen out of Winchester, Virginia. Virginia State Police are continuing to investigate the crash and the alleged theft of the car, and possible criminal charges have not yet been announced.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.