A 23-year-old South Chesterfield man died early in the morning on September 15 after the SUV he was driving left River Road west of Matoaca and struck a drainage culvert. Police say Tyler Allen McCray-Carter was not wearing a seatbelt when the crash happened around 1:53 a.m.
McCray-Carter was driving a 2013 Honda SUV west on River Road when the vehicle left the roadway and struck the culvert, according to WRIC ABC 8News. He died at the scene. The crash happened in the 9000 block of River Road, forcing police to close the road between Graves Road and Church Road for an extended investigation.
Authorities said further information was not immediately available as the investigation continued. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 804-748-1251, or Crime Solvers at 804-748-0660, which can also be reached through the P3 app.
A Young Life Cut Short
McCray-Carter's family shared that he was preceded in death by his father, Troy Carter, who died in March 2018, according to an obituary posted through Legacy.com via J.L. Dodson & Sons Funeral Establishment. He is survived by his mother, Tristan McCray, and his siblings.
A Corridor With a Troubled History
River Road carries a posted speed limit of 45 mph in the area, according to Chesterfield County. It is not the only fatal crash the stretch has seen in recent memory. In December 2025, a sedan struck and killed bicyclist William Mason in the 4300 block of River Road, the Chesterfield County Police Department reported at the time. And in August, county police cited a fatal January 2021 head-on crash on River Road that killed Jordan Barksdale as part of a “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” safety campaign.
Countywide, Chesterfield logged 6,191 total motor vehicle crashes and 33 traffic fatalities in 2024 among its 271,102 licensed drivers, per Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles data. The county also recorded four fatal pedestrian crashes in 2025 and three more through mid-April 2026, according to Virginia State Police.
Seatbelt Use Remains a Statewide Challenge
Police say McCray-Carter was not buckled in at the time of the crash, a detail that carries added weight given state crash statistics. The risk of death in a Virginia motor vehicle collision is eight times higher for occupants who are not wearing a seatbelt compared to those who are buckled up, according to Virginia DMV data cited by Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers.
Statewide, 277 unrestrained occupants died on Virginia roads in 2025, according to DRIVE SMART Virginia. Virginia operates under a secondary enforcement seatbelt law for adult drivers under Code of Virginia § 46.2-1094, meaning officers cannot stop a vehicle solely for a seatbelt violation unless another traffic infraction is observed, per the City of Danville's summary of the statute.
Investigators have not said whether speed, road conditions, or impairment played a role in the SUV leaving the pavement before striking the culvert. The crash adds to a string of recent fatal and serious collisions across Chesterfield County, including a fatal I-95 crash involving a overturned dump truck and a GRTC bus crash on Midlothian Turnpike that injured seven people.
