A horrific, high-speed crash sent an airborne sport utility vehicle into a billboard support at the south end of Lee Bridge early this morning, killing one woman and critically injuring another.
Richmond police shut down the intersection of Semmes and Cowardin avenues after the 12:59 a.m. crash, but travel lanes were reopened shortly before dawn.
Police units remained at the scene this morning where a southbound Jeep Cherokee coming off the bridge traveled as far as 100 yards across land, hit an embankment at the Springhill Avenue intersection, became airborne and clipped a small office shed for a former used car dealership before slamming into a thick support column that holds a familiar billboard.
On one side the billboard advertises a $109 million lottery prize and on the impact side Geico insurance. The Jeep rolled into a small ravine south of the billboard and was not clearly visible to passing motorists.
Police at the scene said two women in the Jeep, neither of whom was wearing a seatbelt, were ejected from the vehicle. The bodies were some 40 yards apart with the vehicle between them.
The driver was declared dead at the scene. The passenger was taken to VCU Medical Center with injuries that police said were life-threatening.
The victims' identities were being withheld pending notification of relatives.
Investigators believe a woman’s shoe found on Semmes belonged to one of the victims and may have been thrown about 50 yards by the force of the impact.
The Jeep was traveling southbound on a stretch of the Lee Bridge where the speed limit is 40 mph, but the vehicle failed to make a sweeping left turn where bridge traffic leads onto Cowardin.
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