New details emerge in deadly Stevensburg Route 3 collision

Posted on Jan 29, 2010

Last year four people were killed in a tragic car crash near Stevensburg on Route 3 when Eugene T. Greene, 30, drove head-on into their vehicle.

Disturbing new details about the case have been made available as the result of a memorandum filed in Culpeper County Circuit Court by the Commonwealth’s Attorney. In the memo, the attorney requested that an expert witness establish that Greene was sleep-deprived and should not have been driving.

The accident happened last March when Greene, who was headed east, veered into oncoming traffic on Rt. 3. His Chevy Tahoe crashed into a Toyota Corolla headed west. The driver of the Corolla, Tyler S. Harlow, 20, of Ruckersville, was killed. Also killed were three of his passengers: Joseph L. Sahnw, 20, of Ruckersville, Tianna V. Jones, 19, of Standardsville, and James B. Cook, 21, of Marshfield, VT. The only survivor in the Corolla was Howard J. Steiniger, 27, of Fredericksburg.

The new details in the case are from the Virginia State Police investigation, which found that neither vehicle left pre-impact or skid marks (no braking), both vehicles sustained damage to their left front sides, Greene was traveling at 55 mph on cruise control when the accident occurred and did not brake, and may have been unfit to drive because he was very drowsy at the time of the collision.

Greene, it turns out, had been awake for 20 hours before the crash and had only had six or seven hours of sleep in the previous 48 hours. He had also consumed two beers an hour before the accident, and was unsure what lane he was in when the accident happened, whether he crossed the double-yellow line.

Greene was charged by a grand jury in October 2009 and is currently free on $20,000 bond. He has pleaded not guilty to four felony counts of involuntary manslaughter, wounding in the commission of a felony, and misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and operating an uninsured vehicle. His trial is set for May 4^th.