Waverly woman killed in aftermath of Prince George wreck

A Waverly woman died in a collision that occurred in the aftermath of a fatal crash in Prince George County on Monday.

Cora E. Fowler, 82, died at VCU Medical Center from injuries in a crash that occurred as she attempted to cross from the right southbound lane of Interstate 95, which was backed up with traffic from an earlier wreck that closed one southbound lane and all northbound lanes for hours.

Fowler appeared to be turning her 2007 Ford Taurus toward a crossover lane for emergency and police vehicles when she was hit broadside by a 1999 Oldsmobile Alero, State Police said. The collision occurred at 9:47 a.m. about a half-mile north of Exit 41 for Route 35 in Prince George. State police noted that it is illegal for unauthorized vehicles to use emergency crossovers on interstates in Virginia.

The driver of the Oldsmobile, Robert E. Braggs, 31, of Garysburg, N.C., and his male passenger, James J. Adkins, 36, were also transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. Both men were wearing safety belts. No information was available on their injuries. The crash remains under investigation.

A 12-year-old Maryland girl died in the earlier crash, which occurred about 4:39 a.m. near Exit 45, where U.S. 301 intersects with the interstate. Shiane Dixon, of Boyds, Md., died after she was thrown from the Lincoln Navigator that that was being driven by her mother, Diane P. Dixon. The mother remained in critical condition yesterday in a Richmond hospital, according to State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller.

The mother's 16-year-old son, Hassan, was treated and released Monday at VCU Medical Center. Two other passengers were treated and released at Southside Regional Medical Center in Petersburg.

Geller said charges are pending in the girl's death, which occurred after the sport-utility vehicle ran off the right side of the southbound lane of I-95, veered and hit a guardrail on the lefthand side. Shiane, who was the only occupant of the vehicle not wearing a safety belt, was thrown into the northbound lane of the interstate and hit by a tractor-trailer. The truck driver was not injured.

-- Michael Martz