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A crash involving two motor vehicles occurred on Southampton Parkway in Courtland on Friday morning, April 26, and claimed the life of one.

The Southampton County Sheriff’s Office stated in a Friday morning news release that it received a call at 6:51 a.m. on April 26 regarding a motor vehicle crash involving a tractor-trailer and a passenger vehicle on Southampton Parkway/U.S. Route 58. 

The crash occurred in the eastbound lanes in the 23000 block of U.S. Route 58 between Medicine Springs Road and Meherrin Road, SCSO officials stated.

Southampton County deputies responded and were investigating the crash, the release noted. The initial investigation determined that a tractor-trailer was slowing down to turn off of U.S. 58 when a Cadillac sedan crashed into the rear of that vehicle. 

SCSO officials said the driver of the Cadillac was pronounced dead at the scene.

SCSO Maj. Camden Cobb stated Tuesday morning, April 30, that the driver was identified as David Michael Dirmeyer, 21, of Ruskin, Florida. Cobb said the man’s next of kin had been notified of his passing.

The April 26 news release indicated that there were no other occupants in the Cadillac.

Cobb said the tractor-trailer driver was transported to an area hospital for treatment of minor injury.

When asked for further details on the cause of the crash, Cobb stated on April 30, “The tractor-trailer that was struck had slowed down and was preparing to turn off of Southampton Parkway. The investigation revealed that the driver of the Cadillac was likely distracted by a cellular phone at the time of the crash.”

The April 26 news release noted that both lanes of Southampton Parkway eastbound had been closed since just before 7 a.m. due to the crash. Law enforcement and other personnel were still on scene, and it was expected that the eastbound lanes would remain closed for a significant amount of time while the crash was investigated.

Cobb stated that as of 12:35 p.m., all lanes of Southampton Parkway were open.

The morning news release concluded by noting that the Virginia State Police and Virginia Department of Transportation were both on scene assisting with the incident. Capron and Courtland Fire and Rescue personnel also responded to this incident.