A Lynchburg man died from an apparent medical emergency early Sunday on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and later in the day, a Pilot man was killed in a motorcycle accident.
In the first incident, National Park Service dispatchers received a report of a person in distress near Milepost 63 on the Blue Ridge Parkway at 3 a.m. Sunday. Law enforcement rangers, along with Amherst County rescue personnel, responded to the area to find two passengers of a vehicle pulled off the road shoulder.
The driver of the vehicle, Kevin Cox, 55, of Lynchburg, was pronounced dead at the scene. Preliminary investigations indicate that Cox suffered a medical emergency.
Later Sunday, at approximately 1:30 p.m., rangers responded to reports of a single motorcycle accident near Milepost 162. The operator of the motorcycle, Matthew Gauck, age 22, of Pilot, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Preliminary investigations indicate that Gauck was traveling at a high rate of speed which is believed to be a primary cause for the crash.