News Release

Fatality near Milepost 1 on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Date: May 3, 2022

On Saturday, April 30, 2022, at approximately 7:05 p.m., National Park Service law enforcement rangers responded to a motor vehicle collision near Milepost 1 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Park personnel, along with Virginia State Police and Wintergreen Fire and Rescue, arrived on scene to find the passenger in the vehicle, Brayan Antonio Garcia Navas, age 23, of Waynesboro, Virginia, deceased.
 
The preliminary investigation indicates the vehicle was traveling northbound when it left the roadway in a curve and traveled approximately 10 feet down an embankment before striking a large tree on the passenger side door, causing the vehicle to flip several times before landing on the passenger side. The operator of the vehicle was transported to the UVA Medical Center in Charlottesville, Virginia, with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.

The investigation is ongoing to determine if there are any further, contributing factors.  No additional details are available at this time.