A J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College dean who was fascinated with automobile-safety technologies died Wednesday in a late-afternoon car crash, according to Henrico County police.
Robert A. Heinz, 68, died on impact after his vehicle was struck in the driver's-side door as he was moving toward westbound Parham Road from Lydell Drive and the college's administrative offices, police said.
The 4:30 p.m. crash remains under investigation, and the other driver was being treated for severe injuries to both legs, police said. The intersection is controlled by traffic lights. The driver of the other car was traveling east on Parham Road.
Heinz's vehicle came to a stop after striking a tree on the east side of Lydell Drive, police said. There was no indication that speed or alcohol were factors in the crash, and both drivers were wearing seat belts, police said.
News of Heinz's death was reported to faculty and staff members at the school Wednesday evening, and school officials said further information will be released today.
Heinz, a native of Union, N.J., had been at Reynolds for 11 years, his family said; he was dean of the School of Business and Engineering.
Family members said they believe Heinz was on the way home to Midlothian at the time of the wreck.
Heinz, whose degrees were from Lehigh University and Carnegie-Mellon University, had recently talked about his excitement over the development of automobile safety technology. This summer, the school received an $809,474 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop courses to train technicians to repair cars using advanced technologies.
"He was really looking forward to bringing the electric car to my son's school," Laura Heinz, a daughter, said Wednesday night.
In an August story in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Heinz said he had installed a safety camera on one of his cars that helps prevent back-up injuries and collisions.
Accident-avoidance systems were a specialty, and Heinz was interested in computer-controlled operations of automobile functions on roadways, systems that can decrease accidents and diminish driver error.
A sensor "knows where the road is," he said. "It knows where the car is, and when those two deviate, it sends a signal and says 'make a correction.'"
Survivors include his wife, three children and three grandchildren.
Funeral arrangements were incomplete Wednesday night.
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