ROANOKE, Va. – Police announced they’ve arrested a 41-year-old Salem man in connection with Thursday night’s deadly crash in Roanoke.
James Brooks is charged with DUI manslaughter after a woman died in a crash at the intersection of Orange Avenue and Gainsboro Road NW.
Police have not yet released any identifying information about the victim.
ORIGINAL STORY
One woman is dead after two Thursday night crashes on Orange Avenue about a half-mile apart, according to Roanoke Police.
At about 9:30 p.m., police responded to a hit-and-run crash near the area of Orange Avenue and Plantation Road NE, about a block east of Williamson Road.
The victims told police that someone hit their car and then drove away, going toward downtown Roanoke on Orange Avenue, according to the police department.
While officers were responding to that crash, they learned of another crash about a half-mile away, at the intersection of Orange Avenue and Gainsboro Road NW, near the Holiday Inn Express just off Interstate 581.
At that crash, officers arrived to find three vehicles with significant damage, one of which matched the description of the suspect vehicle from the nearby hit-and-run.
One woman who was taken to the hospital to be treated for serious injuries died while at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. Authorities have not yet released her identity.
A man in a different vehicle was taken to the hospital to be treated for what police described as serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.
The driver of the suspect vehicle from the first crash, a man, was taken to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital for a medical assessment.
There are charges pending for this incident and warrants for his arrest will be served as soon as he is released from the hospital.
At that time, the police will release his identity.
This incident remains an ongoing investigation.
Below is a map of the two different crash locations: