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Seen in a photo upload to the sheriff’s office Facebook page on Nov. 24, 2021, then-Sheriff Bob Mosier poses with Brock Smith after promoting him to the rank of deputy first class.
Nearly one year after a high-speed traffic crash that killed a Fauquier County couple, the Virginia State Police have charged a former Fauquier County sheriff’s deputy with reckless driving in connection with the Feb. 25, 2022, incident.
Culpeper County Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul Walther, whom a judge assigned as a special prosecutor in the case, charged Brock Smith with the misdemeanor charge in December.
Walther did not respond to a request for comment. A state police representative said Wednesday that the charge against Smith “was at the direction of the commonwealth's attorney” and directed further questions to Walther.
Seen in a photo upload to the sheriff’s office Facebook page on Nov. 24, 2021, then-Sheriff Bob Mosier poses with Brock Smith after promoting him to the rank of deputy first class.
Fauquier County Sheriff's Office/Facebook
According to a state police investigation referenced in charging documents, Smith, then 25, was driving a marked police cruiser north on U.S. 17 near Goldvein “at 100 [miles per hour]” in a 55-mph zone when he collided with a vehicle occupied by Mary and Brian Dangerfield, who were attempting to cross the highway.
Smith “was not responding to a call and had no emergency equipment activated at the time of the collision,” according to the criminal complaint, which is dated Dec. 13, 2022.
Smith was released on a summons and is scheduled to appear in Fauquier County General District Court on April 6. Reckless driving is a class 1 misdemeanor and carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail and/or a $2,500 fine.
Brian Dangerfield died at the scene of the crash, and Mary Dangerfield died later that day after being transported to a hospital. Both were 65 years old. They had been married for 43 years.
The Dangerfields’ family sued the Fauquier County Sheriff's Office and later settled with an insurance company for $5 million, the maximum settlement amount possible without further litigation, according to a joint statement issued along with the settlement last June.
A vehicle overturned after colliding with a sheriff's office cruiser Feb. 25, 2022 on U.S. 17 between Morrisville and Goldvein.
Photo by Liam Bowman/Piedmont Journalism Foundation
“This tragedy was unfortunate and avoidable,” the June 2022 statement said. It added that “the county and the Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office confirm retraining on policies for proper operation of vehicles has occurred with all sheriff’s office personnel. … [T]his and other policies that relate to the safety of law enforcement personnel and [the] general public have and will be ongoing in the future to help tragedies like this from ever being repeated.”
The sheriff’s office declined to add any further comment this week.
Court records did not list an attorney for Smith as of Wednesday.
A vehicle overturned after colliding with a sheriff's office cruiser Feb. 25, 2022 on U.S. 17 between Morrisville and Goldvein.
Photo by Liam Bowman/Piedmont Journalism Foundation
A vehicle overturned in the median of U.S. 17 after a traffic crash on Feb. 25, 2022 north of Goldvein
Photo by Liam Bowman/Piedmont Journalism Foundation
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