AHS student killed in wreck
Advertisement
Text size: small | medium | large
By The Daily Progress Staff
Published: May 9, 2008
A 16-year-old Albemarle High School student died this morning when a tractor-trailer slammed into her car as she made a left-hand turn onto U.S. 29 from the traffic light at Ashwood Boulevard.
Albemarle County police said Sydney Aichs, 16, died at the scene of the crash at 7:08 a.m. They identified the truck driver as Kenneth Barbour, 54, but did not release his address. Barbour was northbound on U.S. 29 when he struck Aichs’ car.
Police closed down the road for more than three hours to clear the wreckage and investigate exactly what happened. Traffic investigators are still reviewing information, and police said their information will be reviewed by the commonwealth’s attorney to determine if Barbour should be charged.
Albemarle school officials expressed sympathy and sadness for the Aichs’ family.
“We are facing a great tragedy in our school system this morning and our thoughts and prayers are with Ms. Aichs’ family and friends and the entire Albemarle High School community,” said Superintendent Pam Moran, in a prepared statement.
School officials said they are making counseling services available to students, faculty and staff at the high school who may want to take advantage of them.
Post a Comment
Please Log In
Comment posting requires free registration with Charlottesville Daily Progress.
Already have an account? Please log in.
Can't find what you're looking for? Try our quick search:
Reader Reactions
Posted by ( virginian ) on May 14, 2008 at 10:36 am
It is a shame this had to happen, I feel very sorry for the family and friends of this young girl.
The lights all through C’ville do not work the way they should. If you pay attention to lights in other citys, when they turn yellow, they stay yellow for a few seconds. Also when they turn red, the other side stays red also for a few seconds. The light at that intersection has a very short delay in both areas. I am not making excuses for the truck driver, I don’t know what happened to cause the wreck. But I do know the intersection and do know there have been quite a few wrecks there. VDOT needs to fix these lights at these bad intersections.
Posted by ( Howard Sheinfeld ) on May 11, 2008 at 11:51 am
My condolences to the Aichs family.
Posted by ( jociebw ) on May 09, 2008 at 11:07 pm
To the family of Sydney, I am so sorry for your loss, I know words can not express to you, the pain you are feeling, but GOD will heal the hurt, and the pain. Please accept my condolences for your loss, and may GOD BLESS you and keep you strong
Posted by ( maryjaneray ) on May 09, 2008 at 8:38 pm
wow - how often does someone actually review the blog entries? apparently not very often
Posted by ( WPCarrier ) on May 09, 2008 at 6:03 pm
First, my condolences to the Aichs family are hereby expressed at this time.
Second, a message to Delegate Rob Bell and others.... it is time to pass legislation requiring a mandatory 6-month minimum license suspension for those who feel it necessary to run traffic lights and exceed the posted speed limit by more than 5 miles-per hour on a consistant basis. Remember: Speed limits that are printed using black paint on a white background ARE THE MAXIMUM LEGAL LIMIT THAT A MUNICIPAL TRAFFIC ENGINEER AND VDOT OFFICIALS HAVE DETERMINED AS SAFE FOR AVERAGE WEATHER DRIVING (BARRING IMPLEMENTATION OF “WORK ZONE SPEED’S” OR OTHER DANGEROUS CONDITIONS). [Capitals used for emphasis].
Third, should it be necessary to install “photographic speed/stop light enforcement cameras” in the Daily Progress distribution area, that the full cost of those cameras be collectively paid for by those who are habitually running the lights and/or speeding in the form of increased fines.
In closing, how many more people do I have to witness running red lights or wanting to nearly run me off the road because I’m not going fast enough for them??? Time’s up! Let’s end this “Road Rage”.
Paul Saam
Ruckersville, VA
[Permission is granted to re-print in the off-line version of The Progress.]
Posted by ( eric1968 ) on May 09, 2008 at 4:12 pm
This is so awful. Please, let’s find a way to make the state fix this intersection.
Posted by ( maryjaneray ) on May 09, 2008 at 4:07 pm
The intersection at FL South should have never been approved until either VDOT or the developers did something about leveling out the road on either side of it. Any reasonable person looking at the traffic history there since would surely agree that not only was it a poor decision, but the state (VDOT) has been negligent by not addressing this problem area sooner. Now we’ve lost a life as a result. How much longer?
Posted by ( camela ) on May 09, 2008 at 12:01 pm
now will somebody finally do something about the lights/entrances at 29 and forest lakes, they’ve always been horrible, couldn’t be a worse spot for intersections. This is horrible!!!!!!!
Posted by ( Dan ) on May 09, 2008 at 11:51 am
The Dobrowolski family would like to express our deepest and most heartfelt sympathies to the entire Aichs family. We are praying for all of you.