Suffolk News-Herald

A 12-year old Suffolk girl died in an accident Sunday when an SUV jumped a median and spun into oncoming traffic.

Brittany Keene was seated in the back seat of the pickup with other members of the Suffolk family. Her father, Virginia Beach Master Police Officer Billie Keene, and three other members of his family were transported to nearby trauma center for treatment.

The child’s family members were all hospitalized as a result of injuries sustained in the crash.

Police have not released the names of the injured, and as of Monday afternoon no charges had been filed.

The multi-vehicle accident took place around 12:35 p.m. when the driver of a Honda sport utility vehicle traveling south on the Va. 168 bypass between the Kempsville Road interchange and the Intra-Coastal Waterway lost control of his vehicle.

Ralph Priest, a police spokesman, said the driver was cut off by another vehicle, veered left into the median, crossed into the northbound traffic lanes and struck an Oldsmobile and a Dodge pickup carrying the Suffolk family.

The front ends of both the Oldsmobile and the pickup were crushed and the driver of the Oldsmobile, a 22-year-old Chesapeake woman, was killed instantly. Priest said her 5-year-old son was seriously injured and that Sentara Nightingale Air Ambulance landed on the highway’s southbound lanes and airlifted the boy to Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters in Norfolk. His condition was not available, however, he is expected to recover.

The 50-year old driver of the SUV, a Chesapeake woman, was taken to Chesapeake General Hospital. Her injuries are not life-threatening, Priest said.

Though storms moved through the area Sunday, Chesapeake police said weather did not appear to be a factor in the crash.

No charges had been filed by Monday evening, and as investigators continue to interview motorists at the scene, they have issued an appeal for anyone with information about this wreck to call 382-6448.