Accomack fatal among six who die in Thanksgiving holiday accidents in Virginia

Virginia State Police Stressing Safety with Winter and Holiday Approaching

Preliminary data indicates that six people died on Virginia’s roadway over the 2025 Thanksgiving holiday, including one Friday afternoon in Mappsville. The number is two fewer than in 2024, when eight people died in fatal crashes.* As of Dec. 1, 2025, preliminary data shows there have been 671 fatalities on Virginia roadways this year, compared to 788 in 2024.

The other fatal crashes occurred in Augusta, Carroll, Dinwiddie, and Pittsylvania counties as well as the City of Richmond. The fatal crash in Richmond on Nov. 29, 2025, involved a pedestrian. Wintry weather is considered a possible factor in the Nov. 30, 2025, crash in Carroll County along Interstate 77.

“We are pleased that fatalities are down for the Thanksgiving holiday, as well as the calendar year,” said Col. Matthew D. Hanley, Superintendent of Virginia State Police. “But one fatality is one too many, and while our troopers push to make the roads as safe as possible, we also need Virginians to buckle up, drive sober, avoid distractions, and stay within the speed limit.”

To prevent traffic deaths and injuries during the Thanksgiving holiday, Virginia State Police participated in Operation C.A.R.E., the Crash Awareness and Reduction Effort. Operation CARE is an annual, state-sponsored, national program during which state police increases its visibility and traffic enforcement efforts during the five-day statistical counting period.

The 2025 Thanksgiving Holiday Care initiative led to state troopers citing 481 people for not wearing a seatbelt and writing 126 citations for child restraint violations. State law changed this year to require that everyone in a motor vehicle wear an appropriate restraint.

Sixty-three people were arrested for Driving Under the Influence. Four-thousand-two-hundred-thirty-seven (4,237) drivers were cited for speeding, and over 1,700 drivers were cited for reckless driving.

Overall, state troopers worked 1,147 crashes, 123 of which resulted in injuries.