A 69-year-old New Jersey woman faces criminal charges in Virginia following a high-speed highway crash that left a young child dead and four adults hospitalized.
State troopers charged Kathleen Gajewski of Plainfield, New Jersey, with reckless driving after her GMC Envoy struck a slowing vehicle from behind on Interstate 81 in Wythe County.
The incident unfolded around 3:03 p.m. on Thursday, September 17, 2026, along the southbound lanes near the 64-mile marker. Traffic in the left lane had started slowing down, forcing drivers to hit their brakes.
According to preliminary state police reports, a Jeep Compass was slowing down in traffic when Gajewski’s GMC Envoy approached from behind at a high rate of speed and slammed into the rear of the Jeep.
A juvenile passenger sitting in the Jeep bore the brunt of the collision. Emergency crews transported the child to a hospital, where medical staff pronounced the young victim dead. State police noted the child was wearing a seatbelt.
Three adult passengers inside the Jeep sustained serious injuries in the crash. Paramedics took them to the hospital, where doctors treated them for non-life-threatening conditions.
Gajewski also suffered serious injuries in the wreck and required hospital care. Investigators charged her with reckless driving while working to piece together what caused her not to stop.
Traffic stalled for miles as Virginia State Police managed the crash site. Simultaneously, troopers were also investigating another traffic accident in the northbound lanes of Interstate 81 in the very same area.
Leave a Reply