News

Actions

Matoaca grad, Army vet killed in Chesterfield crash

Posted at 8:05 PM, Jun 16, 2013
and last updated 2013-06-18 07:19:27-04

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WTVR) – The 22-year-old man killed in a “single-vehicle crash” around 1 a.m. near the intersection of Sandy Ford Road and North Rhodes Lane in Chesterfield on Sunday was a father and U.S. Army veteran.

Police identified the driver as Christopher L. Leavell, of the 19200 block of Church Road.

Police said Leavell’s car struck a tree and caught on fire. The two passengers in the car were taken to Southside Regional Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries, police said. The investigation into the crash is ongoing.

Leavell, who graduated from Matoaca High School in 2009, was an avid Motocross racer who served two terms in Iraq as a member of the U.S. Army, according to friends and family.

He left behind a one-year-old son Kellan, according to his wife.

“He enjoyed hunting, racing, and working on anything with a motor. He was always willing to lend a helping hand,” his wife Shelby wrote in an email.

Leavell’s friends organized a vigil Monday night to honor him.