EMPORIA, Va. (WAVY) — Two teens were killed and two other teens suffered life-threatening injuries in an early morning crash Thursday in Emporia, Virginia State Police said.
The single-vehicle crash happened around 4:05 a.m. when a 17-year-old girl, Aaliyah Nevaeh Thomas, of Emporia, was driving north on Temple Avenue and lost control of the vehicle, drove off the road and struck a tree, causing the vehicle to overturn and split in half.
An 18-year-old, Marvin M. Williams, of Emporia, died upon impact. Thomas was also killed in the crash, State Police said, and two other teens who were passengers in the vehicle, a 15-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl, were both flown to Richmond with serious, life-threatening injuries.
No one in the vehicle was wearing seat belts at the time of the crash, and State Police added that “speed was a causative factor.” They said it is not known if alcohol was a contributing factor in the crash.
The crash remains under investigation, State Police said, and next of kin have been notified for both Thomas and Williams Jr.