Trooper describes crash that killed 5 on I-77

RIPLEY, W.Va. — One of the state troopers who investigated the Saturday morning accident on Interstate 77 in Jackson County that killed five people said it was difficult to hold back his emotions.

“You’ve got to control that and it’s very hard,” Trooper Maxie Fannin said Monday on MetroNews Talkline. “The officers in this state and this country, we’re emotional as well.”

An SUV with a driver and five passengers went through the median barrier wires between Ripley and Ravenswood and into the path of an oncoming truck. The driver of the oncoming southbound vehicle and one passenger in the SUV were the only survivors.

Trooper Fannin said Monday on Talkline the SUV did not immediately burst into flames and other motorists were able to help some of the victims. He said one of those other motorists, identified as Bradley Persinger, ran across the median to the crash scene while his girlfriend called 911.

“God bless those individuals,” Trooper Fannin said. “This is what we call organized chaos. Everybody pitched in, done what they needed to do. It was a collaboration of good people doing the best they could with an horrific situation.”

The crash killed Charleston residents Vivian Easton, 46, Walter Taylor, 48, South Charleston High School student Devon Easton Badger, 15, Stonewall Jackson Middle School student Tahj Claiborne, 14, and Wallace Worrell, 50. The group was traveling to the state Class AAA championship game between South Charleston and Capital. Easton and Taylor were going to see their daughter, Savannah Taylor, cheer for the Black Eagles. She’s a member of the cheer squad. Badger was Taylor’s brother and the other victims were related.

Trooper Fannin said Nathaniel Williams, in his mid-40s, was the only person in the SUV to survive. He was ejected from the vehicle. He is being treated at CAMC. The truck driver, identified as Ryan Cline of Parkersburg, is also expected to fully recover.

Trooper Fannin said the 8:30 a.m. crash happened during a rain storm in an interstate curve. He said it was a set of terrible circumstances.

“Based on the weather conditions, what the curvature of the road is—-everything kind of contributed to what happened,” he said.

The median cables did not stop the SUV. Fannin said there are probably a few reasons for that.

“In this situation they worked as best they could but based upon road conditions, based upon the wetness of the ground, a lot of these things prevented this cable wire from working the way it should,” according to Trooper Fannin.

Many residents have already stepped forward to help the family with funeral arrangements. A couple funds have been established including the Eagles Who Care club page on the website GoFundMe.com.





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