Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, September 4, 1993                   TAG: 9309040062
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

3 DRIVERS CHARGED WITH MANSLAUGHTER

Indicted were:

Kevin Wade Payne, 35, of Bandy Road.

On July 29, Payne was hauling a load of sand when his dump truck ran into the back of a compact car which had slowed for a turning vehicle on a two-lane stretch of Virginia 311.

The impact knocked the car into the path of another dump truck. A passenger in the car, 4-year-old Ralph Walters, died of massive head injuries. His father, the Rev. Joseph L. Walters, was injured severely.

Roanoke County Commonwealth's Attorney F.W. "Skip" Burkart said prosecution witnesses are expected to testify that Payne was following too closely behind Walters' car just before the accident.

The grand jury returned charges of reckless driving and involuntary manslaughter. Payne is scheduled to report for a bond hearing Sept. 21.

Walters, 34, has been hospitalized since the accident. He is recovering at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., after undergoing several operations to reconstruct his crushed arms and legs, according to his attorney, P. Brent Brown of Roanoke.

Walters is the pastor of Catawba Valley Baptist Church. Ralph was the only child of Walters and his wife, Susan.

John Walton Stover, 20, of Spring Hollow Road.

Authorities say that Stover was racing another car along Peters Creek Road on June 3 when he ran into the back of a third car near the intersection with Barrens Road.

The driver of the third car, Robin S. Washburn, was injured, and her son, 9-year-old Dustin, was killed.

Stover was driving on a license that had been restricted because of an earlier drunken-driving conviction.

The accident, which happened two weeks after another suspended driver killed himself and two other people in Roanoke, led to a public outcry for tougher laws to keep suspended drivers off the road.

A witness at a July 27 preliminary hearing estimated that Stover was traveling 90 mph as he and another driver raced side by side through a red light at Airport Road just moments before the accident.

Stover, who passed field sobriety tests, admitted to police that he drank several beers before the accident.

The grand jury indicted Stover on charges of possession of alcohol by an underage person, driving with a suspended license, reckless driving and involuntary manslaughter.

He remains free on bond until his trial, which is tentatively set for Oct. 27 and 28 in Roanoke County Circuit Court.

Scott Robert Manning, 19, of Plymouth Drive.

Authorities say Manning was driving the car that was racing with Stover the night of the accident.

Testimony at Stover's preliminary hearing indicated that Manning's car was not involved in the collision. Police identified him when he turned around on Peters Creek Road and stopped at the accident scene.

Burkart sought charges against Manning under the theory that his behavior contributed to the fatal accident.

The grand jury charged Manning with reckless driving and involuntary manslaughter. He is scheduled to report for a Sept. 21 bond hearing.

Keywords:
FATALITY