RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — A man wanted for a double fatal crash in Richmond’s Northside on Thanksgiving day was arrested Thursday in Currituck County, North Carolina.
Sources confirmed to 8News that Ryann Daniels was arrested for two counts of involuntary manslaughter relating to a six-car crash on Thanksgiving night left two people dead.
According to Richmond police, on November 26 close to 8 p.m., Daniels was driving a white pick-up truck going westbound on Brookland Park Boulevard when he barreled through a red light –smashing into two cars causing a chain reaction crash on Chamberlayne Avenue.
All three vehicles then collided with three vehicles that were stopped in the eastbound lanes of Brookland Park Boulevard.
58-year-old Kevin Hancock, a Richmond youth football coach for more than three decades died at the hospital and 52-year-old Karen Murphy died from her injuries at the scene.
An eyewitness on the scene Thanksgiving night told 8News the driver who caused the crash admitted being high.
Richmond Police told 8News that Daniels was treated at the hospital the night of the crash. RPD said charges against him where pending as the investigation was ongoing.
Daniels was never in police custody. RPD said he was treated at the hospital and then released.
8News has asked Richmond Police how long Daniels was treated at a local hospital and why he was not charged and detained at the hospital upon his release. We also asked for the driver’s toxicology report.
RPD’s response to our questions was: “We cannot comment further, as the investigation is ongoing.”
According to the Currituck County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to the 100 block of Raccoon Drive in Knotts Island on Thursday, December 4 around 1:30 p.m. after a report of a wanted person.
The sheriff’s office approached the home Daniels was staying at. The man fled on foot into a wooded area, but a K-9 unit, accompanied by several deputies, was able to track Daniels deep in the woods and take him into custody.
Authorities couldn’t confirm the residence was Daniels’. The Currituck County Sheriff told 8News he doesn’t know how long Daniels was staying in the home and what his connection to Currituck County is.
Daniels has a lengthy criminal history in Virginia dating back to at least 2013.
According to court records from 2013 to 2016, he was charged in various parts of Central Virginia and Essex County on illegal alcohol purchasing, speeding, and shoplifting.
In June of 2019 in Henrico County, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years with nearly four years suspended for possession of drugs and got probation for 99 years.
In July of 2019 in Hanover County, he pleaded guilty to felony destruction of property charges from September of 2018 and was sentenced to five years. He served one year and got 10 years probation.
Most recently in Hanover, he was charged with being intoxicated and swearing in public.
Court records also show he has a home in Mechanicsville.
Daniels has been charged in Richmond with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. He being held at the Currituck County Sheriff’s Office detention center under a $500,000 bond.
The crash remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call RPD Crash Team Investigator D. Olson at (804) 646-1664 or contact Crime Stoppers at (804) 780-1000.
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