
DATE: Thursday, July 31, 1997               TAG: 9707310381

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A15  EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LOUIS HANSEN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:   64 lines

DAUGHTER, 8, AND MOM ARE SAFE AFTER CAR PLUNGES INTO RESERVOIR

Seconds after her car plunged into the deep water of the Western Branch Reservoir on Wednesday afternoon, a Windsor woman surfaced from the submerged vehicle and screamed, ``My daughter!''

Just as a nearby fisherman was taking off his shoes to dive into the 20-foot water, the 8-year-old girl bobbed to the surface.

She was lifted into the fisherman's boat, and her mother clung to its side. Both were taken safely to shore.

Wendy Anne Roberts, 32, of the 2600 block of Pond View Lane in Windsor, and her daughter, Whitney Amber Roberts, were treated for minor injuries at Obici Hospital and released Wednesday night, a nurse said.

Suffolk police said Roberts was driving a rented, red 1997 Ford Taurus eastbound on Everets Road, near Chuckatuck, about 1:30 p.m. when she spotted construction work that narrowed the two-lane road to one.

Roberts swerved on the winding, wet pavement to avoid a traffic flag man and crashed into the guard rail of a bridge that carries traffic over the reservoir, said police spokesman Michael Simpkins.

Police estimated that the sedan was traveling at about 55 mph, the speed limit. The flag man, Joe Silbaegh, said he jumped out of the way of the oncoming vehicle.

Charles Nolen, 45, of Suffolk, was fishing from a small boat with his 7-year-old daughter, Emily, when he saw Roberts' car plunge into the lake.

Nolen immediately took his boat over to the wreck, but the car sank within 30 seconds, he said.

Seconds after they got to the site, he said, Wendy Roberts surfaced from the submerged car and screamed about her daughter. Ten seconds later, the girl emerged.

Police said both mother and daughter had freed themselves. Nolen said both had been wearing seat belts.

Nolen said he put Whitney Roberts, who was conscious and alert, into his boat, while the mother held on to the side and was towed to shore.

The daughter appeared to be more composed than her mother, he said.

Everets Road links Virginia Route 10 near Chuckatuck and U.S. Route 258 near Windsor.

The road work and the rain may have contributed to the accident, police at the scene said. Roberts was charged with reckless driving. ILLUSTRATION: Photos

JOHN H. SHEALLY II/The Virginian-Pilot

Rescue workers give medical care to Wendy Anne Roberts, who had been

taken to safety by a fisherman.

Roberts' 8-year-old daughter also was rescued by the fisherman,

Charles Nolen of Suffolk. Nolen, 45, was fishing from a small boat

with his own daughter when he saw Roberts' car go over the bridge.

Roberts and her daughter freed themselves from the sinking car.

MICHAEL KESTNER/The Virginian-Pilot

Chuckatuck Volunteer Fire Department members watch as the 1997 Ford

Taurus is pulled from the Western Branch Reservoir on Wednesday

afternoon. The car, driven by Wendy Anne Roberts, 32, of Windsor,

plunged into the lake after Roberts swerved to avoid construction on