DANVILLE, Va. – Danville got a lot of rain in Wednesday’s winter storm, but it was a different scenario for much of the state.
A mixed bag of precipitation dumped snow, sleet and freezing rain over the higher elevations, with trees down and power interruptions. Dominion Energy reported more than 8,100 customers were without power by mid-afternoon, many of them in the Shenandoah Valley. Appalachian Power reported the largest number of outages in Henry, Patrick, Floyd, Grayson and Albemarle Counties. More than 3,000 customers were still in the dark early Thursday.
State Police responded to hundreds of storm-related crashes and helped more than 125 disabled motorists.
19-year-old Brannagan K. Locklear of Pembroke, North Carolina died from injuries suffered in a wreck in Pulaski County. Virginia State Police say that say at about 7:45 a.m., a single-vehicle crash happened on I-81 South at mile marker 94. Locklear was taken to LewisGale Hospital in Pulaski, where he was pronounced dead. State Police say he was not wearing a seatbelt.
State Police said two other crashes happened shortly after the initial wreck on I-81 South in the same area.