Flower car,

Flower car,

sedan involved

in fatal accident

near Flint Hill

By John Toler

Rappahannock News Staff Writer

The investigation continues into the cause of an automobile accident last week near Flint Hill that caused the deaths of two men and serious injuries to a third man.

According to Trooper Gary Settle of the Virginia State Police, the accident occurred on Wednesday, Jan. 20, at about 3:35 p.m. on Rt. 522, near the intersection with Rt. 632 north of Flint Hill.

James Robert Brady, 59, of Flint Hill, was southbound on Rt. 522 in a 1991 Ford Tempo, when he crossed the center line, colliding head-on with a 1987 Ford station wagon owned by Turner-Robertshaw Funeral Home of Front Royal.

The station wagon was occupied by Alvin Petit, 65, of Linden, who was driving the car, and William Clay Denny, 69, of Front Royal, his passenger.

Brady and Petit died as a result of their injuries; Denny was transported to Warren Memorial Hospital, where he remains in critical condition.

According to a spokesman at the funeral home, both Petit and Denny were retired, and had worked for the funeral home part-time for several years.

The vehicle Petit was driving was a flower car used by the funeral home, and the two employees had just started back to Front Royal, following a service held in Flint Hill.

There were no witnesses to the actual collision, but a passing motorist arrived on the scene just before the wrecked vehicles came to rest.

“The passenger who survived may be able to recall what happened, but he is seriously injured,” said Trooper Settle.

Whether or not erratic driving or alcohol were contributing factors in the accident is still under investigation, according to Trooper Settle. Final results should be known in about two weeks.

Services for Petit were conducted by Turner-Robertshaw Funeral Home on Sunday.