A Maryland man will serve three years in prison after pleading guilty in Augusta County Circuit Court on Tuesday to felony involuntary vehicular manslaughter for a 2022 vehicle crash on Interstate 81 that killed a VDOT worker.
John C. Barksdale, Jr., 25, of Baltimore, was given a 10-year sentence for his plea, with seven years suspended, said Assistant Augusta County Commonwealth’s Attorney Holly Rasheed. Barksdale’s suspended time is based on continued good behavior, and he must serve three years of supervised probation.
Killed in the accident was Shawn P. Dick, 32, a VDOT employee from West Virginia and the father of four children.
Barksdale was traveling north on I-81 on the morning of Feb. 1, 2022, in a tractor-trailer, according to Rasheed. The accident happened around 4:45 a.m. near mile marker 232 in Augusta County.
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In the area Barksdale was traveling, there were six orange fluorescent message signs advising Barksdale that the left northbound lane of I-81 was closed for roadwork, Rasheed said.
“But he never got over,” Rasheed said of Barksdale’s possible move of his truck to the right lane. The tractor-trailer struck a VDOT truck and killed Dick, a passenger in the truck who worked for VDOT.
Initially, Barksdale was charged with reckless driving, according to Rasheed. But following a Virginia State Police investigation, he was indicted on the involuntary vehicular manslaughter charge.
Rasheed said this is one of the few cases of involuntary vehicular manslaughter she has prosecuted that did not involve drugs or alcohol.
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