After rumors circulated on community Facebook pages Thursday morning about a “fatal” crash, James City County Police took to social media to clarify the situation.
“We are aware of information circulating on social media regarding a fatal crash on Longhill Road this morning (Thursday). We want to clarify that incident,” the post said.
The post was later changed to remove the word “fatal.”
“We posted that we were aware of the rumors that it was a fatal crash, but that may have confused people further,” said police spokeswoman Stephanie Williams.
At around 7:10 a.m., a Williamsburg-James City County school bus driver noticed a vehicle in the ravine across from the entrance to Season’s Trace and reported it to police, Williams said. That resulted in the road being closed for a short period.
Around 7:20 every morning, Longhill Road experiences a high volume of traffic because of the schools located along the path. After a number of cars passed the site, locals took to social media to figure out what had happened, according to Facebook posts.
Starting less than an hour after the call, members of the Williamsburg News and Notes Facebook page started speculating that the driver of the vehicle had died, according to posts on the page.
Williams said the vehicle was found to be an unoccupied Nissan Pathfinder. Williams did not have information on whether the vehicle was totaled, but it had to be removed from the scene by a tow truck.
Officers have found the owner of the vehicle but the investigation is still ongoing as to how the crash occurred and who was driving, Williams said.
