UPDATE: The woman killed in a crash on Rt. 5 the day before Thanksgiving has been identified as 60-year-old Karen Ann Whitaker, of Mill Rd, in Henrico.
The driver of the tractor trailer that hit Whitaker's car was charged with several crimes. Clarence E Risher, Jr., 42, of Walterboro, South Carolina was charged with:
- Reckless Driving
- No Valid Virginia OL/CDL (Suspended in South Carolina)
- Logbook Violation (Motor Carrier Regulation)
- Operate a Commercial Motor Vehicle while disqualified or suspended
- Operate a Commercial Motor Vehicle while having alcohol in the vehicle.
==========================================================
HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WTVR)--Police sources told us a woman driving a Mustang Wednesday had just left the daycare at Four Mile Creek Baptist Church where she worked.
A few hundred yards down the road, she lost her life. Visible at the scene were a jack-knifed 18-wheeler and a white Mustang covered with a tarp in the ditch.
Police continue to investigate the deadly crash which came on the day before Thanksgiving.
"One fatality has been confirmed at New Market Road and Doran Road," said Lt. T.A. Alvis.
People living by New Market say at times the road can be a nightmare to drive on. "Lots of traffic,” said Gilbert Blackburn. “Sometimes it takes ten minutes to get out of my driveway."
And someone who knows heartache on this stretch of road also lives just a few feet from the accident scene, a scene similar to one that took his aunt’s life 12 years ago.
"Back on '01 she pulled out of her driveway,” said Brad Enroughty. “A vehicle slammed into her and she died. It was a T-bone accident."
Police say they're early in the investigation and are trying to figure out what happened and who was at fault. Police say the first officer arrived on scene 30 seconds after the crash. He had been right down the road writing a traffic ticket.
Flares lined the road Wednesday as police directed traffic. Officers were working the tragic scene for nearly four hours while church members gathered after hearing the bad news, left in shock and disbelief.
“So sad. So close to Thanksgiving, you know," said Enroughty.
