MEC&F Expert Engineers : 06/28/18

Thursday, June 28, 2018

​NTSB is investigating the passenger vehicle that struck motorcycle in Dumfries, VA on April 12, 2018. The collision occurred between a 2012 Honda Civic car driven by a 47-year old male and a 2006 Yamaha XV1900 CT motorcycle operated by Master Sergeant Jerre S. Thomas II, 57, who died in the crash

Preliminary Report: Highway HWY18FH012

  • Accident No: HWY18FH012
  • Accident Type: Office of Highway Safety
  • Location: Dumfries, VA
  • Date: 4/12/2018


​NTSB is investigating the passenger vehicle that struck motorcycle in Dumfries, VA on April 12, 2018.


Executive Summary



The information in this report is preliminary and will be supplemented or corrected during the course of the investigation.

About 8:15 a.m. (local time) on Thursday, April 12, 2018, a two-vehicle collision occurred on northbound Interstate (I-95) near milepost 151.4 in Dumfries, Prince William County, Virginia. In this area, the roadway consists of three travel lanes. The roadway is delineated on the far-right lane with a solid white line and edged with a 11-foot paved shoulder. The far-left lane of the roadway is delineated by a solid yellow line, has a 2-foot paved shoulder which transitions to an 11-foot earthen shoulder. The earthen shoulder is edged by a metal guardrail. On the other side of the far-left guard rail are the high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, which at the time, were selected as northbound travel lanes.[1] The HOV lanes are located between the northbound and southbound lanes. The crash occurred just south of the entrance to the HOV lanes. The posted speed limit is 65 mph.

The collision occurred between a 2012 Honda Civic car driven by a 47-year old male and a 2006 Yamaha XV1900 CT motorcycle operated by a 57-year old male. The motorcycle was traveling in the far-left lane and the car was traveling adjacent to the motorcycle in the center lane. According to a statement provided by the car driver, he did not see the motorcycle before he made a lane change to the left and struck the motorcycle. The motorcycle exited the roadway to the left, went into the shoulder area, struck the guardrail, re-entered the highway, and fell over on its side. The motorcycle operator was transported to Sentara Northern Medical Center with life-threatening injuries and later died. The car driver was not injured.

View of the area of the crash location on northbound I-95 (left photograph) and motorcycle at final rest (right photograph). (Source- Virginia State Police)


The car driver was restrained by the available lap/shoulder belt and the motorcycle operator was wearing a Department of Transportation approved helmet at the time of the crash. The motorcycle operator was on his way from his home in Quantico, Virginia, to work at Fort Belvoir, approximately 24 miles to the north. Reportedly, the motorcycle operator frequently commuted to work on his motorcycle and traveled this identical route on I-95 and would also utilize the HOV lanes. There is no cost for motorcycles to travel on the HOV lanes in this section of I-95.

All aspects of the crash remain under investigation as the NTSB determines the probable cause, with the intent of issuing potential safety recommendations to prevent similar crashes. The NTSB is working alongside the Virginia State Police to compile a complete and accurate account of the crash.

1. HOV lanes are transitioned to northbound lanes from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and then reversed to southbound lanes from 3:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Retrieved from: http://www.virginiadot.org/travel/hov-novasched.asp#I-95 Express Lanes


Probable Cause
The information in this report is preliminary and will be supplemented or corrected during the course of the investigation. 



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Motorcyclist dies after I-95 crash in Prince William Co.



By Sarah Beth Hensley | @SarahBethHens

April 13, 2018



WASHINGTON — A 57-year-old motorcyclist died in a two-vehicle crash on Interstate 95 in Prince William County Thursday, Virginia State Police said.

On Thursday morning, Jerre S. Thomas II — a 57-year-old Quantico, Virginia, resident — was riding a 2006 Yamaha XV1900CT motorcycle on northbound I-95 near mile marker 151 when a 2012 Honda Civic changed lanes and hit the motorcycle, police said. That caused the motorcycle to drive off the roadway.

Thomas attempted to regain control and re-enter the interstate, but the motorcycle fell on its side and Thomas was thrown off it.

Emergency crews transported Thomas to Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. He later died from his injuries.

The driver of the Honda was no injured, police said. Charges for the 47-year-old driver are pending.

Virginia State Police are investigating the crash.


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Jerre S. Thomas, II

December 11, 1960 ~ April 12, 2018 (age 57)

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Master Sergeant Jerre S. Thomas, II, Retired US Marine Corps, died on April 12, 2018 in Quantico, VA.

Jerre was born December 11, 1960 in York, PA, a son of Jerre S. Thomas and Francine Boyd Thomas Miler. MSgt Thomas was a career Marine Corps Veteran, who served honorably for 20 years. He was a Master Instructor of Photography, and his military career included time at the White House with the Military Press Corp during the Presidencies of George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. He retired from active duty 2000 and went to work for the DOD, where he became Chief of Audiovisual Services for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. He was also a member of the Quantico, VA Town Council.

He is survived by his mother, Francine Miler and his step-father, Edward "Ned" Miler of Summerville, SC; his girlfriend of eight years, Abigail Kohn and her daughter, Esme Anna Kohn of Falls Church, VA; his three children, Allison G. Thomas of Beaufort, SC, Justin W. Calandra (Kelly) of Richmond, VA, and Nathaniel S. Thomas, also of Richmond, VA; three grandchildren, Brianna Christine Leaha Thomas, James Lee Smith, IV, Ian Michael O'Toole Smith, all of Beaufort, SC; sister, Tracy Thomas Mitman (Ed) of Summerton, SC; two nephews, Matthew Mitman of Bowman, SC and James Mitman (Jennifer), and their two sons of Summerville, SC; aunt, Barbara Thomas of York, PA, and her daughter and two granddaughters of New Orleans, LA; step-brothers, Michael Miler of Spring, TX, and Mark Miler (Anna) of Littlestown, PA, and their daughter, Allison Miler of York, PA; and a step-sister, Diana Spencer of Montgomery, TX. Jerre is predeceased by his father, Jerre S. Thomas.