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Virginia State Police (VSP) are asking drivers to slow down and take precautions in the wake of the latest Route 60 crash. One person is dead after a traffic accident Sunday at the intersection in Buckingham County.

State troopers were called out to the intersection of Route 60 and Route 632 around 1:53 p.m. on Sunday, June 16. 

“A 2015 Chevrolet Silverado was heading eastbound on Route 60 when it could not avoid a 2012 Honda Civic,” said Matthew Demlein. He works as a public relations manager with VSP. According to Demlein, the driver of the Civic ran a stop sign on Route 632. The Silverado then struck the Civic on the driver’s side of the vehicle.

The driver of the Civic, 60-year-old Monica L. Macindoe of Fredericksburg, died at the scene.  She was wearing her seatbelt. The driver of the Silverado was not injured.

Demlein said the crash remains under investigation.

Route 60 crash latest in a series

This is just the latest in a number of accidents that have happened over the last few months in Buckingham County. And the main hub for all of these accidents has been the same specific intersection of Route 60 and Route 632. Now to be clear, officials with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) say they’re working on several solutions. But at the same time, officials from multiple agencies say they need drivers to pay attention as well.

Last year, VDOT put a sign up, warning people as they approached the intersection. The data shows as long as they paid attention, it was ok. One Route 60 crash last year was a resident who admitted to being distracted. Another was a teen driver, who admitted to being not focused on the road.

This month, VDOT started a project to throw “the kitchen sink” at that intersection, as VDOT engineer Scott Frederick told the Buckingham County supervisors at their regular meeting. First, VDOT workers obtained the easements and started clearing the right shoulder on both approaches to Route 60. The goal here is for people to never have to worry about tree branches blocking the view again.

The second step was installing stop signs at all approaches. And these signs, including the one ignored in Sunday’s accident, are oversize, a 48 x 48 design. The signs were also installed closer to the shoulder of Route 632.

Step three just started last week, with VDOT workers adding transverse rumble strips on each approach.