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

DATE: FRIDAY, June 30, 1995                   TAG: 9506300083
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SNOW CREEK                                  LENGTH: Medium

3 MEN DIE AS CAR FALLS INTO FLOOD-MADE HOLE

Ernie Adkins, Steve Adkins and Larry Massey never saw what was coming.

Torrential rain in the southern end of Franklin County overnight Wednesday made a raging river out of a small stream that many locals can't even name.

Sometime after midnight, the water toppled a section of Virginia 652 above the creek, named Ditto Branch, taking two 48-inch culverts with it and leaving a hole 25 feet deep and 40 feet wide.

Around 1:30 a.m., the hole took the Adkins half-brothers and their friend.

According to police reports and accounts from family members, this is what happened:

The three men decided to take a drive in the storm.

Why?

"Well, you know how people get out and ride around when it snows? They were out looking at the flood," said State Trooper Tim Harris.

Less than a mile from Ernie Adkins' house, the truck - traveling south about 40 mph down a hill - hit the hole and flew into the face of rock, mud and crumbled pavement on the other side.

Harris, who arrived on the scene shortly after 4 a.m., said Ernie Adkins, 29, and Larry Massey, 42, of Chatham, were killed by the impact. He said an autopsy is being performed on Steve Adkins, 19, of Pittsylvania County, to determine his cause of death.

The Adkinses were found inside the mangled cab of the truck; Massey's body was found in the creek about 50 yards from the washout.

None of the three was wearing a seat belt, Harris said.

Because many roads in the area were under water, the Snow Creek Rescue Squad had to tiptoe its way to the accident scene after Appalachian Power Co. workers found the truck and reported the crash about 2 a.m.

Christy Matherly, a rescue squad member, said the trip to the accident scene would normally take five minutes from the squad's building a couple of miles away.

This time it took 20, she said.

When the squad arrived, there wasn't much it could do. Matherly said a lot of effort was needed just to create a safe path down into the creek to the truck.

"It's a useless feeling," said Blane Whitman, a Snow Creek fireman. "You just stand there and look. There's nothing you can do without endangering yourself."

A sign was placed at the intersection of Virginia 652 and 646 to warn motorists that sections of 652 were impassable because of rising water, but Harris said he does not know if the sign was up at the time the men passed through that area.

County officials and the Virginia Department of Transportation did not know about the washout on the road - located a couple of miles from the Pittsylvania County line - at the time of the accident, said Claude Webster, Franklin County's director of public safety.

Thursday morning, Snow Creek residents gathered on both sides of the washout and talked about the accident and the storm. Bits of the truck were scattered about. Boulders, trees and mud covered what was a farmer's field just hours before.

"Water's a powerful force, don't let anybody kid you," said Cecil Love, who lives near Rocky Mount. "It's bad when you lose a road, but when you lose people's lives, it's getting awful."

Ruben Brown, a farmer who lives in the southwestern part of the county, said he's never seen a harder rain. Brown, 58, has lived his entire life in the county.

James "Hoochie Pap" Walker had a story to tell, too. Walker owns a one-room cabin on a stream near Snow Creek. He said the storm washed out the ground underneath it and the cabin started floating. It came to rest against a grove of trees, he said.

Walker's story drew a cackle from his wife, Lutie.

"We're laughing, but there ain't none of this that's funny," she said.

The storm swept into Snow Creek from the northwest, following the county's mountain chain, Webster said. It settled in between Turkey Cock and Chestnut mountains and pelted the Snow Creek area.

Almost six inches of rain fell in about two hours, said Franklin County Supervisor Page Matherly, who lives minutes from Ditto Branch.

Several smaller washouts - including one on Virginia 645 near Penhook - occurred on roads in the southern portion of the county, Webster said.

The rain also ruined numerous acres of tobacco, Matherly said.

A damage estimate was not available Thursday.

Keywords:
FATLITY