No charges are expected in the Wednesday evening wreck that claimed the life of an Appomattox child, according to State Police.
Trooper G.A. Smith said based on the account of an independent witness, 16-year-old Braxton Elliot, of Appomattox, had a green arrow allowing him to turn his Chevrolet Tahoe into the Shoppes of Appomattox shopping center on U.S. 460.
When Elliot attempted to make the left turn at the center’s stoplight, at 6:38 p.m., he struck the driver’s side of a Pontiac minivan driven by Pamela Chappell, 45, of Appomattox.
Chappell’s 11-year-old son, Wayne Kenneth Chappell, along with two other juveniles, was ejected from the minivan when it overturned.
He was airlifted to the University of Virginia Medical Center with critical injuries. He died Thursday afternoon.
Wayne’s father, Darrell Chappell, also sustained injuries in the wreck, and was airlifted to Lynchburg General Hospital. Smith said his injuries were not life threatening.
The two other juveniles thrown from the vehicle received minor injuries. Neither they nor Wayne were wearing seatbelts. One child was restrained in a safety seat, and did not receive any injuries.
Elliot and one of his passengers received minor injuries and were treated at Lynchburg General Hospital.
Two other passengers in the Tahoe were not injured.
Smith said an accident reconstruction team has yet to reconstruct the scene, but even after they do, he said does not believe the investigation will lead to any charges.
One eyewitness’s testimony is the only indicator of the stoplight’s status, making it hard to file any charges against either driver, Smith said.
“It’s one of those cases where, if we had red light cameras, that would have taken care of the whole problem,” he said.
“(Regardless), the camera won’t bring a child back, but it certainly would have helped with a little something.”
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