Serious crashes start holiday travel

View larger image A woman is carried away from an overturned Honda CRV after a crash in front of the White Oak Campground on Fairfax Pike (Va. 277), east of Stephens City, on Friday afternoon. Dennis Grundman/Daily View larger image State Trooper D.R. Gray looks over the scene of a crash at John Marshall Highway (Va. 55) and Interstate 81, where a motorcycle and pickup collided Friday. Rich Cooley/Daily

By Alex Bridges - abridges@nvdaily.com

The Easter travel weekend began with two serious motor vehicle crashes in the area on Friday afternoon.

A single-vehicle crash on Fairfax Pike near Stephens City snarled traffic at about 3:45 p.m. as first responders worked to extricate the driver, Nannette Scott, 46, of Newlins Hill Road, Frederick County. Shortly after the crash in Frederick County, a passenger vehicle collided with a motorcycle in Shenandoah County, west of Strasburg.

In the first crash, Mrs. Scott was driving a 2005 Honda CRV that rolled over on Fairfax Pike (Va. 277) just west of White Oak Road near Sherando Park, according to Deputy Warren Gosnell, with the traffic division of the Frederick County Sheriff's Office. Her husband, Kenneth Scott, 51, was riding in the front passenger seat of the vehicle, Gosnell said. The husband did not report any injuries.

The driver appeared to have reached down for something, the deputy said, citing a witness' statement. The vehicle started to drift to the left and, when the driver looked up again, she jerked the steering wheel to the right, Gosnell said. The Honda then veered off the road and into a 3-foot ditch. The vehicle slid 80-90 feet on its right side before it struck an embankment, according to the deputy. The impact caused the Honda to spin and roll over, with the vehicle eventually rolling over and coming to a rest on its roof, the deputy said.

The Scotts were wearing their seat belts, according to Gosnell.

But Mrs. Scott became trapped when her seat belt released, so rescue workers on the scene used extrication equipment to free her from the vehicle, Gosnell said.

Rescue workers took Mrs. Scott to Winchester Medical Center for tests and treatment of non-life threatening injuries, according to Gosnell.

Authorities shut down both directions of Fairfax Pike at White Oak Road and Hudson Hollow Road for approximately 35 minutes, he said.

The matter is still under investigation, but charges are pending, the deputy said.

Approximately an hour after the crash near Stephens City, emergency dispatchers in Shenandoah County received a report of a two-vehicle collision on Va. 55 at Interstate 81. State police responded to the crash that involved a motorcycle and a pickup. A helicopter transported one patient from the scene. Rescue workers took a second person to Winchester Medical Center. Further information on the crash was not available Friday night.