Crash near Colonial Parkway leaves Williamsburg teen dead
Attorney
(866) 735-1102 Ext 313
Elizabeth Marie Shannon of Williamsburg died Tuesday night in a crash near Colonial Parkway, The Virginian-Pilot reported Wednesday.
Shannon, 19, was driving her Chevrolet Aveo south on Penniman Road when the accident happened at 9:23 p.m., a Virginia State Police spokeswoman told the newspaper.
The accident happened when Shannon went off the road and struck a cement pillar, the Daily Press of Newport News reported.
Shannon graduated from Williamsburg's Lafayette High School in 2008. Any fatal traffic accident is a tragedy, but a crash when a young life is needlessly snuffed out is doubly so.
Shannon was taken to Riverside Regional Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead shortly after the crash.
A passenger – not publicly identified as of Wednesday afternoon – was seriously injured and airlifted to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. Affitional information about her condition was unavailable.
The Virginia State Police spokeswoman said “reckless driving” caused the crash, the Daily Press said.
The crash happened in York County on a stretch of Penniman Road near the James City County-York County line.
Penniman Road has the third-highest crash rate of any location in York County, according to a 2008 York County traffic safety study. There were 23 crashes on the road from 2004 to 2006, according to the study, giving it a crash rate of 1.49 and an injury rate of 2.72.
“This high crash frequency clearly indicates that some kind of additional safety measures need to be taken at these locations,” the study concluded. I hope authorities in York County heed those words and work to make Penniman Road safer for all.
About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm which focuses on injury and accident law and our attorneys have handled thousands of car and truck accident cases. Check out our case results to see for yourself. In addition, check out our FREE special reports on distracted driving and The Best Guide to Car Accident injuries in Virginia. Our primary office in based in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) although our lawyers hold licenses in NC, SC, WV, KY and DC. We are ready to talk to you by phone right now—we provide free initial confidential injury case consultations, so call us toll free at 1-800-752-0042. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube . Furthermore, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as a pro bono public information service.
(MM)