An 18-year-old woman is dead after her boyfriend drove a stolen car into a moving freight train during a pursuit by Fauquier County sheriff’s deputies Wednesday, authorities said.
Virginia State Police are now investigating the crash and the stolen vehicle aspect of the case, while the Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the driver eluding deputies, according to Lt. Col. Chad Brubaker.
Here’s what the sheriff’s office said occurred. A deputy saw the 2015 Honda Accord going 97 mph in a 55 mph zone on northbound Route 17 near the bridge at Hastings Lane early August 2 and started a pursuit, according a news release. The driver did not stop for a second deputy who joined the pursuit.
The sheriff’s office called off the chase twice after losing sight of the car, once approaching Marshall and again after following it onto I-66 where the driver’s speeds reached 115 mph.
The next time deputies saw the car was at the railroad crossing in Delaplane on Route 17.
Cars were stopped at the crossing, but the 19-year-old driver from Winchester had crossed the center line and plowed into the moving Norfolk Southern train, authorities said. NBC4 identified the driver as Jeremiah Greenfield and the woman who died as Haidan Smallwood, 18, of Berryville. A 20-year-old backseat passenger was injured.
Smallwood, a graduate of Clarke County High School, had planned to study nursing at Liberty University, her mother said.
Smallwood’s mother, Nina Pierce, told NBC4 she’s angry because she believes Greenfield intentional drove into the train.
No charges have been placed in the case. Just days earlier, Greenfield had been pulled over in the same vehicle for driving without a license, NBC4 reports.
According to her family, Greenfield had told Smallwood he paid cash for the car. Authorities said it had been stolen from Winchester.
Featured image, Артем Константинов/stock.adobe.com
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