ResolvedFatal accident · Reinvestigation· Accomack County, VA

The Tidewater Wreck of '97

A 1997 single-vehicle fatality was reclassified after contributors matched the skid analysis to a known road defect.

Foggy steel bridge over a misty river at dawn

Timeline

Oct 1997
Vehicle leaves the Tidewater curve; single fatality.
1998
Ruled driver error; case closed.
2024
Contributors recover the original skid-length worksheet.
2 months ago
Commonwealth reclassifies citing the documented curve defect.

Community leads

1 filed

brakemark4 months ago

The worksheet assumed dry pavement, but the weather record shows light rain that night. Recalculated against the wet coefficient, the skid length is consistent with the speed limit — not with the reported speed.

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