A multi-faceted winter storm coated parts of Virginia with snow, sleet and freezing rain on Wednesday, taking down tree limbs, creating power outages and leading officials to warn motorists against travel.
Officials in Charlottesville say trees and tree limbs came down in parts of the city and across Albemarle County, The Daily Progress of Charlottesville reported.
Dominion Energy reported on its website more than 8,100 customers were without power by mid-afternoon, many of them in the Shenandoah Valley.
Virginia State Police said that as of 3 p.m., troopers had responded to approximately 200 crashes and 125 disabled vehicles as a result of weather conditions. A single-vehicle accident on Interstate 81 killed a North Carolina man, and state police said slick road conditions were a factor.
A state police spokeswoman identified the victim as Brannagan K. Locklear, 19, of Pembroke, N.C. Locklear was taken to a local hospital, where he died. He was not wearing a seatbelt, the spokeswoman said.
Virginia’s Department of Transportation said snow and sleet was accumulating along Route 20 between Charlottesville and Scottsville, but listed the road as having “minor” issues. U.S. 250 from Crozet to Charlottesville was listed as also seeing some accumulation and possible icy spots.
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