A Charlottesville man has been identified as the fatality in a five-vehicle crash last Sunday on U.S. 29 in Madison County.
Masashi Kawasaki, a 69-year-old professor of biology at the University of Virginia, was a back-seat passenger in one of the five vehicles. Kawasaki did not die at the scene but rather en route to the hospital.
While multiple injuries were reported, all of the other drivers and their passengers survived.
The wreck occurred around 4:35 p.m. at the intersection of U.S. 29 and Virginia Route 230, according to Virginia State Police.
A 2017 Volkswagen Golf, a 2024 Hyundai Tucson, a 2021 Ford F150 and a 2024 Subaru Outback were traveling south on U.S. 29 when they all slowed or stopped at a red light, state police reported. A southbound 2023 Ford F350 following behind them was unable to stop and collided with the Volkswagen, which set off a chain-reaction crash involving all five vehicles, according to state police spokesman Sgt. Brent Coffey.
The driver of the F350, Thomas Whittle, a 38-year-old resident of Floyd, was not injured in the crash. Whittle was charged with reckless driving and failure to wear a seat belt.
Kawasaki was in the back seat of the Golf. The driver of the Golf, a 69-year-old Charlottesville woman, and another passenger, a 74-year-old woman, both suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries and were transported to University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville for treatment. All three were wearing seat belts.
The driver of the Tucson, a 25-year-old from the United Kingdom, was not injured. Two passengers of the Tucson, both men, one 38 and the other 32, both suffered minor injuries and were transported to UVa. They were all wearing seat belts.
The driver of the F150, a 49-year-old man from Charlottesville, suffered minor injuries and was transported to UVa. He was wearing a seatbelt.
The driver of the Outback, a 50-year-old woman from Charlottesville, and an 11-year-old passenger, also a woman, were not injured in the crash. Both were wearing seat belts.
The crash investigation and clean-up closed southbound U.S. 29 for roughly five hours Sunday. The Virginia Department of Transportation assisted with the roadway closure and detour.
Born in Tokyo, Kawasaki joined the UVa faculty in 1990. He focused on animal behavior, specifically electric fish.
Doug Taylor, chair of the UVa Biology Department, called him “the most generous and principled colleagues that I have ever known.”
“Masashi was among the most generous and principled colleagues that I have ever known. He was listened to and respected by his colleagues and was working for the students literally until the day that he passed. He had an outsized effect of our department and will be sorely missed at every level,” Taylor said in a statement.
“Masashi Kawasaki’s influence extended far beyond the biology department. He was an accomplished musician and a tireless advocate for classical music in Charlottesville. He was an active member of the local Japanese American community, and the food culture that this involves.”
Source: www.dailyprogress.com