WYTHE CO. – Virginia State Police is continuing its investigation into Saturday morning's (Aug. 18) three-vehicle crash that killed three people and injured five others. A search warrant executed on the Ford F150 pickup truck responsible for the crash has yielded the discovery of a semi-automatic assault rifle; a significant quantity of methamphetamine; multiple containers and vials of prescription narcotics; and various drug paraphernalia.
Following the crash, the driver of the F150 pickup truck, John C. Parker, 32, of Jackson, Miss., was transported to Wytheville Community Hospital and then taken to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. Parker has since been released and is now being held at New River Regional Jail in Pulaski County. He has been charged with reckless driving, one felony count of possession of a Schedule II narcotic with the intent to distribute, one felony count of possession of a firearm while in possession of a Schedule II narcotic, and one count of possession of marijuana.
The crash remains under investigation by Trooper A.M. Adams, the Wythe County Commonwealth's Attorney, and the general investigations and drug enforcement sections of the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation's Wytheville Field Office. Additional charges are still pending.
The crash occurred Saturday at 9:39 a.m. on Route 21, less than a mile north of Cinnamon Run Road in Wythe County. The 2006 Ford F150 pickup truck was traveling north on Route 21 when it crossed into the southbound lane. First it sideswiped a southbound 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer and then struck head-on a southbound 2000 Dodge Caravan. The impact of the second crash spun both the Ford pickup truck and the Dodge Caravan around.
Three people were killed and three others were injured in the Dodge Caravan. The driver, Rufus S. Jones, 59, of Eckman, W.Va., and a passenger, Florence J. Braxton, 52, of North Fork, W.Va., both died at the scene. Another passenger, Taurean A. Walker, 30, of Eckman, W.Va., was flown to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital where he died later Saturday. Jones was wearing a seat belt; Braxton and Walker were not wearing seat belts.
Three other passengers in the Dodge Caravan, a 4-year-old, 12-year-old and 56-year-old were transported to Wytheville Community Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. The child was in a child safety seat and the other two were wearing seat belts.
The driver and passenger in the Trailblazer were not injured. A second passenger in the Trailblazer was transported to Wytheville Community Hospital for treatment of minor injuries.
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Tpr H.D. Mooney & Tpr. A.M. Adams with Seized Narcotics
