10 People Killed In Labor Day Weekend Fatal Crashes: Virginia State Police

VIRGINIA — The last major holiday weekend of summer resulted in 10 traffic fatalities in Virginia, according to state police data. That number is down from 14 fatalities over the 2023 Labor Day holiday weekend.

Virginia State Police say the 10 fatalities were recorded in eight crashes over Labor Day weekend. Two of the crashes had double fatalities, including one in Northampton County on Virginia’s Eastern Shore on Sept. 1 and the other in Henry County in southern Virginia on Sept. 2. The data comes from the four-day holiday period from 12:01 a.m. on Aug. 30 to 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 2.

"We continue to be on an unsustainable pace for traffic fatalities," said Col. Gary T. Settle, superintendent of the Virginia State Police, in a statement. "As the year winds down, we cannot stress enough the need for people to slow down, to buckle up, to place their complete focus on driving, and to drive sober."

Two people were killed in Henry County when a vehicle crossed a median and struck a stationary tractor-trailer on Route 58, according to WDBJ7. In Northampton County, a car caught fire when it ran off Route 13 and hit a ditch and culvert, WAVY.com reported. The two people inside the vehicle became trapped and died of their injuries.

Along with the double fatal crashes in Northampton and Henry counties, fatal crashes were reported in the counties of Bedford, Caroline, Floyd, Henrico, Montgomery and Northampton, and the city of Lynchburg. Two of the fatalities involved pedestrians — the crash on Aug. 30 in Caroline County and City of Lynchburg on Sept. 1.

None of the fatal crashes happened in the Northern Virginia region.

State police had put all available troopers and supervisors on patrol during Labor Day weekend as part of the nationwide Operation C.A.R.E. A total of 797 crashes were handed by state police, which typically patrols state highways and interstates.

State troopers issued 3,078 speeding citations, 1,376 reckless driving citations, 77 DUI citations and 261 hands-free law citations. In addition, there were 463 seat belt violations and 105 child restraint violations.