A 53-year-old Virginia Beach woman has died from injuries she suffered in a rollover crash on Route 13 in Northampton County, with the driver now facing three separate charges. Marinabernadett Esthermarie Long was riding in a 2022 Kia Seltos that ran off the roadway, struck a culvert, overturned and hit a utility pole near Treherneville Drive on Oct. 16. She was hospitalized with serious injuries and died three days later, on Oct. 19.
According to 13News Now, Virginia State Police responded to the single-vehicle wreck on Route 13 south in Northampton County and found the Kia had left the road before overturning and colliding with the utility pole. Long, described as a passenger in the vehicle, was taken to the hospital with serious injuries, and state police were notified of her death three days after the crash.
Driver Faces Multiple Charges, Did Not Need Hospital Transport
The driver, 58-year-old Robert Lee Ward III of Hallwood, sustained less serious injuries and did not need to be transported to the hospital, the station's report states. Ward has been charged with driving while suspended, driving without a seatbelt and failure to maintain lane. Virginia State Police are continuing to investigate the crash, per the same account.
Virginia's seat-belt statute, Code § 46.2-1094, requires occupants of motor vehicles to use safety lap belts and shoulder harnesses and sets a $25 civil penalty for a violation. Separately, Code § 46.2-301 allows a court, at its discretion, to order a vehicle already administratively impounded to remain impounded or immobilized for up to an additional 90 days following a conviction for driving on a suspended license in certain circumstances — though nothing in the record indicates that provision has been applied in this case.
Route 13 Has Seen Other Fatal Crashes on the Eastern Shore
This is not the only recent fatal wreck on Route 13 on Virginia's Eastern Shore. In August, a Hallwood woman was killed in a two-vehicle crash on the highway in neighboring Accomack County, according to Shore Daily News. That crash happened around 8:37 a.m. on Aug. 23 in the northbound lanes near Gospel Temple Road, when a 2012 Mercedes-Benz C300 collided with the front of a 2018 Dodge Journey.
The Dodge driver, 36-year-old Jessica Rode Morris of Hallwood, sustained fatal injuries in that crash, the outlet reported. The Mercedes driver, 18-year-old Jacob Ishmal Adonis Kamara of Dover, Delaware, along with an adult female passenger, suffered injuries that were not considered life-threatening. Kamara was charged with reckless driving, and that crash also remained under investigation.
Virginia State Police have not released additional details about what led the Kia Seltos to leave the roadway in the Northampton County crash, and the investigation into Long's death remains active.
