ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Sunday, March 31, 1996                 TAG: 9604010063
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: C-4  EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BETTY HAYDEN 

1 MAN DEAD IN COLLISION CAR HAD CROSSED DOUBLE YELLOW LINE

A 31-year-old Roanoke man was killed Saturday afternoon when his car crossed the double yellow line on Jae Valley Road and struck a pickup truck, police said.

William Samuel Shirley was rounding a curve near the intersection of Sun Valley Lane in the Windy Gap section of Roanoke County when the accident occurred about 4 p.m.

There were no skid marks from either vehicle, so neither driver may have seen the other coming, Lt. T.W. Haynes said. The vehicles collided head on.

"They met almost license plate to license plate," Haynes said.

The pickup's driver, 55-year-old Herman Childress of Hardy, was listed in satisfactory condition at Roanoke Memorial Hospital.

His passenger, Darlene Harper, 54, was also in satisfactory condition. Police did not know her address.

The accident is still being investigated, but Shirley may have looked down for a moment and drifted into the other lane, Haynes said.

LENGTH: Short :   30 lines
KEYWORDS: FATALITY