Husband and wife killed in Blue Ridge Parkway crash

NELSON COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) - Two people were killed in a crash on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Nelson County, according to the National Park Service.

Parkway dispatchers were notified shortly before 1 p.m. March 23, 2025, about the crash near milepost 11. Rangers and first responders found a car on fire that had crashed into a large tree.

The driver, Troy Hagwood, 62, and his wife and passenger Cheryl Hagwood, 60, both of Stuarts Draft, died as a result of the crash, according to park officials. Mr. Hagwood had been a National Park Service employee on the Blue Ridge Parkway for the past 16 years. He was off duty at the time of the accident.

Preliminary investigation indicates Hagwood was traveling northbound when his vehicle struck a tree limb, left the road and hit a large roadside tree before catching fire.