by Don Richeson –
A Middlesex County man and woman are dead following a crash in Middlesex early Saturday morning. The pair was killed on impact when the 2003 Volkswagen convertible they were riding in collided head-on with a Kenworth tractor trailer on U.S. Highway 17, according to a Virginia State Police news release. The VW’s driver was identified as Amberly Joy Wingfield, 22, of Urbanna and the passenger was Bradley Carlton Wingfield, 25, of Topping. VSP identified the tractor trailer driver as William Walker, 44, and did not release the name of his town of residence. Walker suffered non-life threatening injuries.
The crash happened at 3:33 a.m., one mile south of Briary Swamp Road in the Jamaica community. According to the state police, the Volkswagen was traveling northbound in the southbound lane.
Upon impact, the big rig ran off the roadway into a ditch along the shoulder of the highway and tipped over onto its side, spilling more than 70 gallons of diesel fuel.
Investigation into the crash continues. Last fatal MC crash in June 2019
The two deaths Saturday on U.S. Highway 17 in Jamaica are the first traffic fatalities of the year in Middlesex County. The last fatal Middlesex crash was on June 14, 2019. A 13-year-old male was killed on southbound U.S. 17, just south of Route 601 in Laneview, according to Virginia State Police Public Information Officer Sergeant Michelle Anaya.
The investigation revealed that a 2018 Kenworth T880 tractor trailer was disabled on the right paved shoulder due to an engine malfunction. A 2006 Scion XB was traveling southbound in the right lane when the vehicle drifted to the right shoulder and struck the rear of the log trailer being towed by the Kenworth tractor. The collision and impact severely damaged the Scion, and instantly killed the front seat passenger, who was wearing his seatbelt.
(Southside Sentinel reporter Tom Chillemi contributed to this story.)
