Police Say Teen Driver Exceeded Speed Limit

Police Say Teen Driver Exceeded Speed Limit

Staff
Huntington, W.Va.

Trooper Says Inexperience Part of Triple Fatal

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Photo courtesy of Charleston Daily Mail.

State Police will soon reconstruct the accident that claimed the lives of three Cabell-Midland High School Students this week.

State Police Sgt. L. K. Morris says indications show the driver, 18-year-old David Adkins was driving too fast, most likely contributing to the crash.

"We think he was exceeding the speed limit," said Morris. "But, to put a number on it, we don't know just yet."

Morris said the accident was typical of a young and inexperienced driver who lost control, over corrected, and then collided with an oncoming vehicle. The vehicle in this case was a Cabell County school bus.

The road is very narrow, described as a typical rural West Virginia roadway. Morris said it's roadway that normally would require a driver to slow down and possibly stop when they meet a bus.

Investigators told MetroNews none of the three teenage victims were wearing seat belts.

"It's always good to wear a seat belt, but I don't know if that could have saved them or not," Morris said. "The crash was so horrific, I don't know if it would have done any good or not."

The bus was fully loaded with students heading to Barboursville Middle School and Cabell Huntington High School, but nobody on the bus was seriously injured.