Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 22, 1993 TAG: 9306220209
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ROBERT FREIS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FLOYD LENGTH: Medium
One was a decorated Vietnam veteran and a prominent IRS criminal investigator who fought white-collar crime and government corruption.
The other was a young woman who loved sports and participated in high school service clubs.
State police say they don't know why a compact car driven by 16-year-old Tangie Michelle Thomas crossed the center line on U.S. 221 and crashed into Robert Eugene Rorrer's pickup.
Rorrer, 48, apparently tried to Rorrer jerk his pickup away from her path at the last second but could not avoid the collision.
Both drivers, who were alone in their vehicles, died at the scene.
They were among five people killed in automobile accidents in the New River Valley over the weekend. Three died Sunday night in a two-car collision in Ironto.
Thomas' death was the fourth auto fatality during the past year involving a Floyd County High School student or recent graduate.
Those losses, in addition to the death earlier this month of Assistant Principal Rudy Haden from cancer, are almost too much to bear, said Principal Norman Blanchard.
Rorrer was a father and a 20-year veteran of IRS service who was a year away from retiring to his 90-acre Floyd County cattle farm.
He was driving to the farm to put up hay when the accident occurred, according to a family member.
Rorrer was born in Radford and grew up in the West Virginia coalfields.
Twice while he served in Vietnam in 1968 and 1969 he ignored enemy fire to rescue wounded soldiers in his command.
For his heroism, Rorrer was awarded two Bronze Stars and an Army Commendation Medal.
He joined the IRS in 1972 and investigated public corruption and narcotics cases in Chicago and Pittsburgh, according to Thorn McDaniel, chief IRS criminal investigator for Virginia. He came to Roanoke in 1987 as supervisory special agent for IRS criminal investigations, overseeing cases in Southwest Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley.
Locally, he handled a number of high-profile criminal investigations. Among those he helped bring to justice were Christiansburg attorney and drug trafficker Keith Neely, former Bristol Sheriff and embezzler Marshall Honaker and Bluefield businessman Robert S. Painter, who defrauded coal operators while enticing customers with kickbacks and prostitutes.
McDaniel described Rorrer as an "aggressive" opponent of crime who "contributed a tremendous amount to law enforcement."
"He had no patience for white-collar criminals," McDaniel said.
The other victim, Thomas, had been driving for about a year, police said.
The wreck occurred in broad daylight, at 11:35 a.m., at a downhill curve on the two-lane highway. The road surface was dry.
Thomas was a rising junior at Floyd County High School and an enthusiastic athlete. She played varsity softball and junior varsity basketball and volleyball.
She was also a member of the Students Against Drunk Driving, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Future Business Leaders of America.
Floyd County High graduated 141 seniors last week. To endure so many deaths "certainly has been tough on us," Blanchard said.
"It's been an awful year," said Ginny Gardner, a guidance counselor.
Likewise, Floyd County is a tightly knit rural community where deaths such as these create a substantial ripple effect of sorrow.
Today, there will be two funerals, for Rorrer and Thomas, in separate parts of the county.
Rorrer will be buried wearing his IRS badge.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB