UPDATE 8:30 p.m. — River Road has been fully cleared and is now open in both directions.
HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A tragic afternoon in Henrico left a woman and her dog dead after they were involved in a five-vehicle crash near the University of Richmond. Police confirmed the woman who died was 80-year-old Lorena B. Harris of Richmond.
Police were called to the area near River Road and North Ridge Road around 2 p.m. Friday, June 3, and found five cars to be involved in the fatal crash spanning a quarter-mile down River Road.
Multiple people are confirmed to be hurt, and at least two people were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries as a result of the incident. The woman and her dog are confirmed to have been in the same vehicle when they died as a result of injuries sustained in the crash.
Two SUVs involved in the crash were photographed at the scene, including a black Chevy Silverado truck completely flipped over, with heavy damage. The second, a dark gray SUV, was also photographed at the scene in a treeline with damage showing to the front of the vehicle.
Preliminary investigation revealed the Chevy Silverado truck was going west on River Road, crossed into oncoming traffic and sideswiped a Lexus SUV. The truck continued west, rear-ending a Ford sedan. That pushed the Ford into the eastbound lane, where an Audi SUV struck the Ford, crashing through a fence. The truck continued west, where it hit a Chevrolet SUV waiting to make a turn from Westhampton Parkway. The truck continued across an embankment, flipping onto its roof at S. Ridge Road and River Road, where the driver of the truck crawled out of the vehicle.
Henrico resident Larry Tuskey lives a mere 20-yards away from where the crash occurred. He said he ran outside when he heard the commotion.
“It was very, very sad,” Tuskey said. “I came outside, I was working on the pool in the back thinking there was a light plane down somewhere around here. My house really shook, and the dogs went crazy. It was beyond any accident I ever heard in my life. Then I heard another and another and another and another.”
Police identified the driver of the truck as 62-year-old Dennis Vernell Johnson of Gloucester. Johnson was arrested, and charged with a DUI.
This article includes additional reporting by 8News Reporter Ben Dennis.
This is a breaking news story, stay with 8News for updates.
