High-Speed Crash Seriously Injures Teens

Photo byRico_Loeb via Pixabay

BERRYVILLE, Va.-- Virginia State Police are investigating a single-vehicle accident that caused six other vehicles to crash on Thursday. .

According to an emailed media release from VSP Sergeant Brent W. Coffey, the incidents occurred July 25, 2024 in Clarke County.

At 9:02 a.m., a westbound Lincoln Zephyr was traveling at a high rate of speed on Harry Byrd Highway (Route 7) near Gordons Ridge Lane. The Zephyr ran off the right side of the road, overcorrected, ran off the left side of the road into the median, and overturned several times.

The vehicle’s driver, Ethan L. Powell, 18, of Hedgesville, WV, was flown to Inova Fairfax Hospital for treatment of serious injuries. He was not wearing a seatbelt.

A passenger in the Lincoln, a 19-year-old male, was transported to Winchester Medical Center for treatment of serious injuries. He was not wearing a seatbelt.

The crash remains under investigation, and charges are pending.

As a result of the Zephyr crash, several vehicles were stopped on eastbound Route 7. An eastbound 2022 Peterbilt dump truck was unable to stop in time and rear-ended a 2014 Ford Fusion, which caused a chain-reaction crash involving six vehicles (including the first two).

No one was injured in the secondary crash and no charges were placed.