FORD, Va.—Virginia state police have released the identity of a pickup truck driver who allegedly rear-ended a church van, killing four people and injuring eight others.
Police said the van carrying 11 people was turning into a church parking Tuesday night when it was hit by a pickup truck hauling metal.
A state police spokeswoman identified the truck driver as 47-year-old Robert Allen of Norfolk. She said charges are pending against Allen.
4 dead, 8 wounded in church van crash in Virginia https://t.co/F03egAU3h4 pic.twitter.com/K2fZo8yxTQ
— New York Post (@nypost) May 29, 2019
Four of the van’s passengers died. Seven other passengers were hospitalized with severe injuries. Allen was treated for minor injuries at a hospital and later released.
State police said the four people who died were: 87-year-old James Farley, 36-year-old Wartena Somerville, 72-year-old Delois Williams, and 85-year-old Constance Wynn.
State police said the van rolled over several times after it was struck by the pickup truck.
Michael Somerville, a deacon at Shiloh Baptist Church in Blackstone, told NBC12 the van was traveling to Mt. Zion for a revival.
