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Local teens killed in crash
Two local teenagers were killed in a single-vehicle accident on Meetze Road Wednesday night, according to state police.
Virginia State Police Sgt. Les Tyler said the wreck occurred just east of Turkey Run Road at approximately 9:40 p.m.
Brian Michael Jacobsen, 17, of Nokesville was driving a 2005 Ford Taurus eastbound on Meetze Road when he entered a sharp right hand curve. The vehicle went off the left side of the road and Jacobsen over-corrected, Tyler said. The Taurus then went off the road to the right where it struck an embankment, struck a tree and overturned, the sergeant added.
Jacobsen and a passenger, Eric Richard Unger, 18, of Warrenton, both died at the scene from injuries sustained in the wreck, Tyler said.
Both teens were reportedly wearing their seatbelts. However, Tyler said the speed limit in the area is 50 mph, and the “maximum safe speed” entering the curve is 45 mph.
“We feel excessive speed is the main causative factor [in the accident],” Tyler said.
The accident occurred in the middle of National Teen Driver Safety Week. State police reported that five Virginia teens were killed in motor vehicle crashes between Oct. 19-21. The fatalities occurred in Loudoun, Amherst, Augusta, Gloucester and Lee counties. Those killed included a 15-year-old passenger; a 16-year-old driver; two 17-year-old drivers; and an 18-year-old passenger.
Seatbelts were not used in three of the fatal crashes prior to the Meetze Road incident, and it is undetermined if they were used in the fourth, police said. Speed was a factor in two of the crashes and alcohol was a cause of one collision.
According to a report provided by the Department of Motor Vehicles/Virginia Highway Safety Office, 92 teens were killed in motor vehicle accidents in Virginia last year. Preliminary reports show 77 teens between the ages of 15 and 19 have been killed in traffic crashes this year.
The Meetze Road accident is being investigated by Trooper C.A. Carson of the Area 12 Office in Warrenton and members of the state police crash reconstruction team.
E-mail the reporter: abogdanovic@timespapers.com
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