ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 30, 1997 TAG: 9703310091
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
No criminal charges will be filed; prosecutors could not find a state statute that made their conduct illegal.
A mound of road-kill carcasses discovered off Interstate 295 near Short Pump was left by two Virginia Department of Transportation workers who were too lazy to bury the dead animals, officials said.
The remains of about 35 dead animals were found recently near the interchange of I-295 and Interstate 64 by Henrico County authorities.
The workers had used the area to dump deer, dogs, cats and other road kill since July 1996, police said. They would not identify the men.
No criminal charges will be filed against the men because prosecutors could not find a state statute that made their conduct illegal, police said.
``The law says the owner [of an animal] must bury their carcasses, but it doesn't apply to you or me finding an animal at the side of the road,'' said Virginia State Trooper Greg Hopkins, who investigated the matter.
The workers should have buried the animals along the state right of way off the interstate or disposed of the remains at a landfill, transportation spokesman Andy Farmer said. He added that VDOT workers collecting dead animals from state roadways will dispose of them properly in the future.
VDOT crews have cleaned up the site.
LENGTH: Short : 36 linesby CNB