Police Identify Boy Killed in Crash; Investigation Continues

By WYDaily Staff Wednesday, August 10, 2011

James City County police have released the name of a 13-year-old boy who was killed Monday night after the minivan he was riding in ran off the road and rolled several times before crashing into a dump truck.

Brashawante Brooks, of Little Creek Dam Road in Toano, was pronounced dead at the scene in the 1300 block of John Tyler Highway. The crash occurred just after 8 p.m. Police said the van's driver, a 35-year-old Hampton man, somehow lost control of the van as he drove west on John Tyler Highway, ran off the road and then flipped several times before striking an eastbound dump truck.

Police said Tuesday night that five of the van's occupants remain hospitalized: a two-month-old girl is at MCV Hospital in Richmond; the driver, along with an 18-year-old female, a 17-year-old male and a three-year-old female remain hospitalized at Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News. A 31-year-old female passenger was treated and released.

The dump truck's driver, a 50-year-old Williamsburg man, was treated at Williamsburg Sentara Hospital and released.

James City Police spokesman Major Steve Rubino said the cause of the crash remains under investigation. No charges have been filed.

The accident caused John Tyler Highway to be closed at the James City County/Charles City County line for nearly six hours.