Branch charged in fatal crash

Published 12:38 pm Monday, February 6, 2017

A 23-year-old Burkeville man has been charged in connection with a Buckingham crash that resulted in the death of 19-year-old Shelly Warner.

Torrey J. Branch faces charges of one felony count of driving under the influence (DUI): involuntary manslaughter; one felony count of DUI, second offense within five years; one felony count of maiming of another resulting from a DUI; possession of marijuana; driving on a revoked license; reckless driving and failure to drive on the right side of the road.

Torrey J. Branch

Torrey J. Branch

Branch, according to Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller, was charged by State Police Trooper R.M. Chambliss.

Email newsletter signup

The accident occurred Nov. 26 less than one mile south of Route 630, Red Road, in Buckingham.

According to Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller, Branch was driving a 2008 Chevrolet Impala that struck the vehicle in which Jessy Warner, his wife Shelly, and their 9-month-old son, Timothy, were traveling in.

Jessy received serious injuries from the crash while Timothy received only minor injuries.

“A 2008 Chevrolet Impala was traveling north on Route 15, when it crossed the centerline into the southbound lane and struck head-on a 2000 Buick LeSabre,” Geller said in an earlier release.

After the crash, Branch was transported to UVa Hospital in Charlottesville for treatment of serious, but non-life threatening injuries.

Branch has a court date set for April 7 at 11 a.m. in Buckingham General District Court.