SHANKS, W.Va. — Hampshire County authorities are reporting a third death in connection with a head-on traffic crash from earlier this month.
According to the Hampshire County Sheriff’s Department, a 12-year-old passenger in a vehicle driven by Jeremiah Behr Jr. of Springfield, died Sunday, Dec. 27, at the Inova Fairfax Medical Center in Virginia.
Behr lost control of his vehicle near the intersection of Northwestern Pike and Little Cacapon Road in the Shanks area on Dec. 18. Behr’s vehicle went across the center line slamming into a car being driven by James Burkett Jr.of Points, West Virginia. Burkett and his wife, Shirley Burkett, a front seat passenger, both died at the scene of the crash.
Behr’s vehicle is believed to have slid out of control due to bald tires, investigators said.
The crash remains under investigation.
Hampshire County EMS, Augusta and Romney rescue squads and Romney and Augusta fire departments were on the scene.