Social media tributes pour in
MONTEBELLO, Va. — On Sunday, a Stuarts Draft couple was killed during a single-vehicle crash on the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP).
According to a media release from the National Park Service, the incident occurred March 23, 2025.
At approximately 12:51 p.m., BRP dispatchers received a report of a motor vehicle accident near milepost 11, in Nelson County.
BRP rangers and local first responders arrived to discover a car crashed into a tree. The vehicle was on fire.
A preliminary investigation revealed that the driver had been traveling northbound when the vehicle struck a tree limb, left the roadway, and then struck the large, roadside tree. The Parkway was closed for a short time while crews worked to extinguish the fire.
The driver of the vehicle, Troy Hagwood, 62, and his wife, Cheryl Hagwood, 60, both of Stuarts Draft, died as a result of the crash.
Mr. Hagwood had been a Blue Ridge Parkway / National Park Service employee for the past 16 years. He was not on duty at the time of the accident.
By mid-afternoon Monday, local social media was already flooded with tributes for the couple.
Along with National Park Service Law Enforcement Rangers, agencies responding to Sunday’s incident included the Augusta County Sheriff’s Department, Wintergreen Fire Rescue and EMS, Nelson County and fire crews from George Washington and Jefferson National Forests.
The Blue Ridge Parkway begins where the Skyline Drive ends, in Waynesboro Virginia. Both Shenandoah National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway are managed by the National Park Service.