A two-year-old boy has died and his father is under arrest for driving under the influence after a single car crash on McCann Road in Washington County, Virginia. Twenty-six-year-old Philip Derek Watson was driving his 1993 Toyota Tacoma on State Route 788 in Damascus on July 15th when the vehicle veered off the left-hand side of the road and struck a culvert, flipping over and sliding on its roof. The car then collided with a mailbox and a tree.
Watson's toddler, Philip Ethan Watson, was strapped into a car seat at the time of the crash, but nonetheless died at the scene. The elder Watson, who was wearing a seatbelt, refused medical treatment despite having suffered "minor injuries." Watson was released from the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail on bond, and Virginia State police say the circumstances of the incident are under investigation and that further charges are pending.
The spot where the fatal crash occurred just before 2am that Thursday is already marked with a white cross from a previous fatal crash in the same location. The owner of the property where the cross was erected, Steve Lovins, commented on the stretch of road where a 16-year-old girl lost her life in a similar crash:
"It's 45 mph, but it might as well be 60," he said of the road. "I hate to see it happen, but I know they're going to."
Family and friends gathered at the Watson residence after the tragedy, and a woman present at the home would comment only to say that the incident was "devastating to everyone." Washington County Commonwealth's Attorney Dennis Godfrey told press that his office was still "fact gathering" to determine the circumstances surrounding the crash, and charges against Watson could be "enhanced." It is currently unclear whether Watson has been appointed or has retained a Virginia DUI attorney to face the charges against him.
According to Lovins, residents on McCann road are still "shaken" by the incident.
"It's a tragedy," Lovins said. "See all they can do, babies, is depend on you. They don't have any say in what happens to them. And look what happened to his one."
This article is presented by The Law Office of Price Benowitz, LLP, serving Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC. For more information, please visit our Maryland DUI Lawyer and DC Criminal Lawyer websites.
