Five killed in two-week span on roads in New Kent, CC

Deaths of a Virginia Beach teen last Thursday and a Henrico County teen on June 27 have upped to five the number of people killed in a series of single vehicle crashes occurring over a span of just two weeks on New Kent and Charles City roads.

All of the accidents involved vehicles running off roadways with four smashing into trees. Four have occurred in New Kent while the fifth took place in Charles City.

The latest fatality occurred last Thursday shortly before 9 p.m. on westbound I-64, just west of the Route 33/West Point interchange. A 2007 Toyota Scion driven by Jennifer L. Pannell, 21, of the 20 block of Old Draft Road in Stuarts Draft, ran off the right side of the road and struck several trees.

A front seat passenger, Logan N. Taylor, 19, of the 4700 block of Whistler Lane in Virginia Beach, sustained serious injury and later died at VCU Medical Center. Pannell, meanwhile, was also seriously hurt and transported to the Richmond hospital.

Neither occupant was wearing a seat belt, State Police said, adding cause of the accident remains under investigation.

The Henrico teen, Daniel L. Norris, 18, of the 10 block of Casey Street in Sandston, was driving a 1998 Ford Bronco east on Route 60 in New Kent around 5:30 a.m. on June 27 when the vehicle ran off the right side of the road and struck several trees, about 1½ miles west of the Route 640 (Old Roxbury Road) intersection.

Norris, who was wearing a seatbelt, was flown by med-flight helicopter to VCU Medical Center but later died. An investigation into the cause of the accident is under way.

The carnage began on June 18 when a 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt driven by Henry C. Kobbah, 40, of Natchitoches, La., ran off Interstate 64 at the 211 mile marker and struck several trees before bursting into flames. Kobbah died at the scene.

Then on June 21, Ronald E. Mabry, 64, of Henrico County, was killed when his motorcycle ran off Cool Hill Road in Charles City and struck a tree. Mabry also died at the scene.

The next day, Michael Deckard, 42, of Quinton, died at a Richmond hospital after being ejected from his 1998 Mazda when the car ran off Route 249 near Quinton Road in New Kent and overturned several times.

With the five recent fatalities, the number of people killed on New Kent and Charles City roads since the beginning of the year now stands at nine.

Three people, two in New Kent and one in Charles City, were killed in April while another man died in a Charles City accident in January.