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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 4, 1995                   TAG: 9510040079
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER and BETTY HAYDEN
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

GUIDANCE COUNSELOR DIES IN CAR WRECK

A Staunton River High School guidance counselor died in an automobile accident on northbound Interstate 81 near Salem that state police discovered early Tuesday.

Judith McBride Wilson, 48, of Bedford County apparently fell asleep at the wheel, according to the police report. Because the car was not discovered immediately, police aren't sure what time the accident occurred.

Her car drifted off the road, struck a tree, rolled over and landed upright. She was not wearing a seat belt, police said.

Gus Exstrom, assistant principal of Staunton River High, remembered Wilson's dedication to her students during her 15 years in the Bedford County school system.

Wilson started as a teacher at the high school and Staunton River Middle School in 1981. Ten years later, she became a guidance counselor at the high school.

``She had a good rapport with the kids,'' Exstrom said. ``They sought out her guidance - not only academically, but on life issues.''

School officials did not find out about Wilson's death in time to notify students Tuesday. Counselors will be on hand today to help students cope with the news.

Keywords:
FATALITY

by CNB