Smithfield man won’t face charges for crash that killed wife
Published 1:41 pm Thursday, September 28, 2023
A Smithfield man won’t face charges in connection with a car accident that killed his wife.
Virginia State Police identified 81-year-old Robert Bryant as the driver of a 2000 Oldsmobile Bravado that, on Sept. 9, allegedly failed to yield right-of-way when making a u-turn on Benns Church Boulevard and was T-boned by a 2020 Chevrolet Suburban.
The impact caused life-threatening injuries to 80-year-old Betty Hendrick Bryant, who’d been riding in the front passenger seat of the Oldsmobile, and died later that day at Riverside Regional Medical Center.
The crash also caused non-life-threatening injuries to the occupants of the Chevrolet.
Police in a Sept. 18 news release said charges were “pending.” State Police spokeswoman Sgt. Michelle Anaya, however, told The Smithfield Times on Sept. 28 that Mr. Bryant would not face charges.
According to Anaya, the “Commonwealth chose not to charge the husband.”