Five killed in crash on W.Va. interstate
RIPLEY, W.Va. (AP) – Police say investigators believe weather played a role in a fiery accident that killed five people on Interstate 77.
West Virginia State Police spokesman Lt. Michael Baylous says a northbound SUV went through a cable median into the southbound lanes after the driver lost control on wet pavement. The SUV was broadsided by a southbound pickup and caught fire.
The accident occurred around 8:30 a.m. Saturday near the Ripley interchange.
Baylous says all five victims were in the SUV. He identified them as 46-year-old Vivian Easton, 15-year-old Devon Easton Badger, 48-year-old Walter Taylor, 14-year-old Tahj Claiborne and 50-year-old Wallace Worrell.
All of the victims were from Charleston.
The pickup’s driver and a sixth person in the SUV suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to a Charleston hospital.