A Wednesday morning collision between a Norfolk & Southern work truck and a Ford SUV left one person dead.
According to Cpt. Brian Wright of the Montgomery Co. Sheriff’s Office, the accident occurred at approximately 8:26 a.m. in the 900 block of Jennelle Road near the intersection with Cedar Run Road.
Based upon the preliminary investigation of the crash, it appears that the driver of the N&S truck left the right side of the roadway and overcorrected while trying to maintain control of the vehicle. He then crossed the centerline into oncoming traffic where he struck the Ford SUV in the side causing both vehicles to overturn. Diesel fuel spilled from the tank of the N&S truck resulting in the vehicle catching fire.
The driver of the N&S work truck, 40-year-old Keith E. Whited of Castlewood, VA,
was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Ford SUV, Alexander S.
Zuchowicz of Blacksburg, was transported to Montgomery Regional Hospital
with what appeared to be non-life-threatening injuries.
Units from the Blacksburg Fire Department, the Christiansburg Fire Department, the Blacksburg Rescue Squad, the Blacksburg Police Department and the Roanoke Valley Regional Hazardous Materials team joined units from the sheriff’s office in responding to the scene.
The two fire departments and the hazardous materials team responded because the N&S work vehicle was on fire and diesel was spilling from a tank on the truck.
Also on the scene because of the fatality was the Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction team.