An 18-year-old driver from Fort Gay died Thursday afternoon following a head-on crash along U.S. Route 52 near Cedar Run Road in Wayne County.
West Virginia State Police reported that Ronald Fraley was driving southbound around 4:37 p.m. when his car suddenly drifted across the center line.
The car hit the guardrail on the east shoulder of the highway. The force of that initial impact knocked the vehicle back into active traffic.
Fraley’s car then crossed over into the oncoming lane and slammed head-on into another vehicle traveling in the opposite direction.
The impact sent Fraley’s vehicle flipping over onto the west side of the roadway. Emergency crews arrived shortly after, but Fraley was pronounced dead at the scene.
State troopers notified Fraley’s next of kin later that evening. Investigators noted that drugs and alcohol do not appear to be factors in the crash, and no injuries were reported for the occupants of the second car.
The crash took place in the Kenova area, roughly 10 miles west of Huntington near the Ohio and Kentucky borders. West Virginia State Police are keeping the case open as they work to determine what caused the vehicle to cross the line.
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