THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 18, 1994 TAG: 9412180070
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Short : 40 lines
A 23-year-old man has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of his 2-year-old daughter after the van he was driving went off a road and hit some trees early Saturday.
Heather Marie Bedford suffered severe head injuries as a result of the accident, and died a short time later at Louise Obici Memorial Hospital. Her father, David Earl Bedford, and another child in the van were not hurt. The accident happened about 5:25 a.m. on U.S. Route 58, Military Highway West, near a Virginia Department of Transportation truck weigh station, just west of the Hampton Roads Regional Airport.
Mike Simpkins, a police spokesman, said Bedford was on his way to pick up his wife from work when he apparently lost control of the van he was driving. The vehicle left the road and ran into several trees.
The girl was in a child-safety seat as required by law, Simpkins said, but it was unclear if the seat was adequately secured or if the force of the impact shook it loose.
The girl was pronounced dead at the hospital at 6 a.m.
The accident happened only a few miles from the Bedfords' home in Magnolia Trailer Park in the 1100 block of Nansemond Parkway. Bedford's wife works at a convenience store near the airport.
Simpkins said the accident was alcohol-related but that the commonwealth's attorney had decided to not bring a charge of driving under the influence and instead filed the more serious charge of involuntary manslaughter.
Bedford was being held at the Tidewater Regional Jail on Saturday night in lieu of bond.
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT TRAFFIC FATALITY INVOLUNTARY
MANSLAUGHTER ARREST by CNB