A Virginia National Guard soldier from Staunton was among two people injured over the weekend when a Humvee he was riding in as part of a convoy crashed on a highway in central Virginia.
Robert Moran, 27, was the front-seat passenger in the vehicle that flipped over several times June 7 on U.S. Route 460 in Dinwiddie County, Virginia State Police Sgt. Jessica Shehan said. He and the driver, 24-year-old Emmanuel Andre Roberts of Woodbridge, were wearing seatbelts, but the impact of the crash still threw them from the vehicle.
Both were taken to VCU Medical Center in Richmond – Moran by MedFlight helicopter and Roberts by ambulance – for treatment of serious injuries, Shehan said.
Moran and Roberts are assigned to the 116th Infantry regiment of the Delta Company’s 3rd Battalion based in Warrenton. The convoy was en route to Fort Barfoot in Nottoway County for three weeks of training.
The wreck happened around 3 p.m. on Route 460 westbound, about 10 miles east of Fort Barfoot.
Shehan said the Humvee was towing a single-axle trailer when it began having issues with control. Roberts, the driver, ran off the right side of the highway, then overcorrected, causing the Humvee to overturn several times.
The crash was due to issues with the way the trailer was hitched to the Humvee, but Shehan said the crash remains under investigation.
The speed limit on Route 460 in Dinwiddie is mostly 55 mph in undeveloped areas, but it can reduce to 45-50 mph near certain intersections. Under U.S. Department of Transportation laws, a convoy travelling on a highway such as Route 460 must maintain the minimum speed limit or 40 mph if there is no posted limit.
Shehan said the convoy was not speeding at the time of the crash.
Route 460 was closed for several hours in both directions due to the crash.
Fort Barfoot is located near the town of Blackstone, about 30 miles west of Petersburg.
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Staunton man among Guard soldiers hurt in convoy crash in central Va.
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