Sergeant J.R. Sharlow said 54-year-old John William Ewell III was a front-seat passenger in a 2001 BMW.
The driver of the vehicle, whose name was not immediately disclosed, ran off the road to the right in a slight curve just after 8 a.m. Sunday on Highway 561, about 7.1 miles east of Halifax.
(A copy of the state Highway Patrol press release is included as an attachment at the end of this story)
The driver jerked the steering back and overcorrected, which caused the vehicle to run off the road to the left. It then struck a culvert, went slightly airborne and struck a light pole. The vehicle then overturned multiple times.
Everyone in the vehicle was wearing seat belts, Sharlow said, but Ewell died from injuries sustained during the impact. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Speed was a contributing factor.
The state Highway Patrol reported in a statement that troopers investigated 10 deaths over the holiday weekend. Last year they investigated 14.
