Sixty-one-year-old Donald Turbin was driving his Chevrolet truck down New Point Comfort Highway on Saturday afternoon when his work trailer detached and triggered a fatal crash. The sudden breakdown killed a local woman and forced Turbin’s family business to shut down permanently.
Turbin, who lives in King William, was hauling the TURBOs Snowballs trailer around 1:13 p.m. when the connection snapped. The heavy trailer separated from his 2023 Chevrolet 2500 and rolled into oncoming traffic, striking a 2002 Ford F-250 pickup truck directly.
The woman behind the wheel of the Ford suffered severe injuries in the hit and died at the scene before medics could help her. State troopers arrived quickly to block off the road and secure the crash site while investigators looked at the hitch mechanism.
Following an initial check at the crash site, Virginia State Police charged Turbin with operating an uninspected trailer. Officers also cited him for failing to secure the load properly before hitting the road that afternoon.
Turbin and his family were on their way to set up their shaved ice stand for the day when the trailer broke loose. The family released a short statement online saying they felt deep pain over the death and could not continue running their eight-year-old business under the shadow of this accident.
TURBOs Snowballs had been a steady part of local summers in Mathews County for eight seasons. But the owners said closing down immediately was the only right choice out of respect for the woman who lost her life and her surviving family members.
Police say the investigation into the crash remains open as they check the mechanical setup of the trailer and truck. Meanwhile, neighbors across the county are coping with the tragic reality that a routine work trip ended in a charge and a lost life.
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