Home Smyth County: 81-year-old man dead in accident involving intoxicated driver
Region/State

Smyth County: 81-year-old man dead in accident involving intoxicated driver

Crystal Graham
doctors and nurses in a hospital emergeny room
(© Atchariya63 – stock.adobe.com)

An 81-year-old Chilhowie man has died from injuries sustained in an accident on Sunday morning in Smyth County.

Jackie L. Blevins was treated at an area hospital but succumbed to his injuries.

A passenger in his vehicle, Martha A. Blevins, 76, suffered serious injuries.

At approximately 10:40 a.m., Blevins’ Honda CRV was making a right turn onto Whitetop Road at a stop sign on County Lane when it was struck by a Toyota Tacoma truck. The truck was headed northbound on Whitetop Road and did not have a stop sign at the intersection.

The driver of the Tacoma truck, Gary L. Pennington, 51, of Marion, suffered minor injuries. Pennington was charged with driving while intoxicated (drugs), possession of a controlled substance, failure to have a vehicle inspected and a seatbelt violation.

The crash remains under investigation, according to Virginia State Police.

Multimedia

 




Crystal Graham

Crystal Graham

A 1999 graduate of Virginia Tech, Crystal Graham has worked for 25 years as a reporter and editor for several Virginia publications, written a book, and garnered more than a dozen Virginia Press Association awards for writing and graphic design. She was the co-host of "Viewpoints," a weekly TV news show, and co-host of "Virginia Tonight," a nightly TV news show, both broadcast on PBS. Her work on "Virginia Tonight" earned her a national Telly award for excellence in television. You can reach her at [email protected]

Latest News

jmu baseball 1993
Sports

JMU team had four future MLB pitchers, but finished .500 during ‘Storm of the Century’ season

Northrop Grumman logo
Local Politics

Waynesboro: DEQ sets second public hearing on Northrop Grumman pollution request

Virginia DEQ has set a second public hearing, for Tuesday, Sept. 15, on the request from Northrop Grumman for a state permit to release tons of hazardous pollutants into the air above and around Waynesboro.

facebook
Trump's America

Meta agrees to $17B settlement in ‘exploit young users’ multi-state case

Meta agreed on Wednesday to pay $17 billion to settle a lawsuit brought by a bipartisan coalition of state AGs who had alleged that the trillion-dollar company had designed its social media platforms to “exploit young users."

dustin griffin
Local

Rubber stamp: VSP investigation into Dustin Griffin officer-involved shooting finally done

lars tiffany uva lacrosse
Go 'Hoos

UVA Lacrosse: Hearing set for Thursday in suit brought by former coach Lars Tiffany

uva football kam robinson
Football, Go 'Hoos

UVA Football: I’m not too confident about Kam Robinson being out there on Saturday

Dolly Parton
Arts & Culture

What Dolly Parton meant to me: She reached back to lift others up, not get more for herself