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Man who rear ended bicyclist on Mountain Rd. charged with manslaughter

Posted at 6:09 PM, Sep 08, 2015
and last updated 2015-09-08 18:12:13-04

MECHANICSVILLE, Va. – Deputies have made an arrest in the death of a Glen Allen woman biking on Mountain Road.

Deputies have arrested Stanley P. Dawson, 59, of Mechanicsville in connection with the Sept. 5, 2015, crash involving a cyclist. Caroline Dawn Wortham was riding her bike near the intersection of Mountain Road and Farrington Road when she was struck from behind by a Buick sedan and killed.

Dawson was charged with involuntary manslaughter, failure to yield to a bicyclist and possession of a concealed weapon.

Wortham, 26, is being remembered by loved ones as someone who was passionate about life and made a lasting impact in the world.

Caroline Wortham

“We were just so shocked, it’s hard to imagine this vibrant beautiful being dead,” said Nadene Brunk, a close friend of the Northam family.

Brunk said she is still waiting for someone to wake her from this nightmare.

“I got a knock on my bedroom door that her sister was trying to contact me — immediately all of these thoughts go through your head about family,” Brunk said. “And you know, at 11:30 at night you know it’s something bad… and it was.”

Wortham was passionate about Haiti, and at just 26 years old had already spent years working to fight maternal and infant mortality rates in the impoverished nation. In fact, she was on the board of the Midwives for Haiti.

Caroline Wortham

Caroline Wortham

“She just in her short life made a huge difference to many, many people,” Brunk said.

Wortham  graduated from Virginia Military Institute and attended high school at St. Catherine’s.

People who live along Route 33 said they see a lot of bicyclists using the road but say it is too dangerous and that the road has little shoulder.

“You’re either on the white line or in the ditch,” Ewbank said. “That`s just a long straight away and once cars start coming down that straightaway they are flying.”

Flowers on the side of the road lie in remembrance of someone who loved the outdoors and someone who loved life.

Dawson is being held without bond at Pamunkey Regional Jail pending an arraignment in Hanover General District Court.

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