Man killed, three children hurt in Nelson County crash

A man died and three children were injured in a car crash on U.S. 60 in Nelson County late Sunday night.

Rodney A. Scheidel, 69, of Gladstone, was killed after his 1990 Chrysler ran off the right side of the road about 11:30 p.m. Sunday and hit a tree, said Deborah Cox, spokeswoman for the Virginia State Police. The crash happened near the Gladstone Fire Department, just more than a mile east of Virginia 622.

His passengers, a 9-year-old girl and two 7-year-old boys, were injured in the crash, Cox said. Two were airlifted to the University of Virginia Medical Center and one was taken to Lynchburg General Hospital. The children’s conditions were unavailable, Cox said.

Scheidel and the three children were not wearing seatbelts, Cox said.

Alcohol was not a factor in the crash, she said.

Troopers are still investigating what may have caused Scheidel to run off the road.

Amherst County Volunteer Fire and Rescue and Gladstone Volunteer Fire and Rescue responded to the crash. It took about three hours for emergency workers to clean up the crash.

Sidener is a staff writer for The News & Advance in Lynchburg.

Amherst New Era-Progress writer Erin McGrath contributed to this report.