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

DATE: MONDAY, October 17, 1994                   TAG: 9410180054
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

CAR LANDS IN RIVER; 2 CHILDREN DIE

Two children, one 7 weeks old, died Sunday morning when a car driven by their mother went down an embankment on Virginia 637 and into the Roanoke River near Shawsville.

Bonnie H. Wheat, 31, was in critical condition late Sunday at Roanoke Memorial Hospital, where she was being treated as a near-drowning victim. Samantha Dawn Niday, 7 weeks, and Danny Lee Niday Jr., 2, were pronounced dead at Montgomery Regional Hospital at 11:45 a.m.

The family lived in Heslip's Trailer Park in Elliston.

All three were in the car under water when the Shawsville Rescue Squad arrived, Capt. Clare Zaronsky said. The baby was removed first, Zaronsky said. He tried to revive the infant while other squad members cut Wheat's seat belt to free her.

The baby was in an infant safety seat, Zaronsky said.

Although water was almost to the top of the car door, Zaronsky said no special tools were needed to get it open, so the rescue went quickly. Christiansburg Rescue Squad members also were at the scene, he said.

The river is about 4 feet deep where Wheat's 1992 Ford Mustang went in, observers said.

According to state police, the car went off the side of the road and down an embankment, hit a rock, flipped over and then struck a tree before it went into the water.

The South Fork of the Roanoke River runs alongside the road, which has a sharp drop-off where Wheat wrecked, an area resident said.

Ray Grisso, who lives nearby in Floyd County, was on his way back from Alley's Country Store when he came upon the accident. He said other cars have gone into the river in the area.

Zaronsky said he knows of several cars that have gone in during his eight years on the rescue squad.

The accident attracted a large crowd, including people on their way to a nearby church or to the store about a half-mile from the accident site on Alleghany Springs Road (Virginia 637), near the intersection with Georges Run Road (Virginia 638).

"Police finally had to tell people to leave," Grisso said.

Keywords:
FATALITY

by CNB