Alexander Lloyd Chaplin, 38, and Jack Philip Oppenheim, 27, both of Henrico County, Virginia, were killed Sunday morning after the SUV they were traveling in ran off Interstate 64, overturned down an embankment and caught fire. The crash happened on the westbound side of the highway, just before the Parham Road exit.
The deadly accident occurred shortly before Exit 181B at Parham Road. According to Virginia State Police, the two men were inside a 2016 Nissan Rogue when the vehicle suddenly left the roadway and headed down an embankment.
The SUV overturned before catching fire. Both occupants died at the scene, with their deaths pronounced at approximately 6:30 a.m. Sunday, November 8.
Authorities initially withheld the identities of the two men while investigators worked to establish who had been inside the vehicle. On Monday, November 9, police identified them as Alexander Lloyd Chaplin, 38, and Jack Philip Oppenheim, 27. Both were residents of Henrico County.
The circumstances that caused the Nissan Rogue to leave the highway have not been made public. Police have not explained what happened inside the vehicle before it went off the road, and no official finding about the cause of the crash has been announced.
The wreck also affected Sunday morning traffic along westbound I-64. The Virginia Department of Transportation reported closures involving the west center lane, right lane and right shoulder near mile marker 182.2. Traffic backups stretched approximately 1.5 miles as crews worked around the crash scene.
Virginia State Police are continuing to investigate the fatal accident, with the department’s Crash Reconstruction Team assisting. Investigators are working to establish exactly how the vehicle left the roadway and what led to the deadly rollover.
For the families and friends of Chaplin and Oppenheim, the news marks a painful loss. Two Henrico County residents who had their own lives, relationships and plans are now being remembered following a crash that took place in the early hours of Sunday morning.
As the investigation continues, further details about the circumstances surrounding the crash may emerge. For now, the deaths of Alexander Lloyd Chaplin and Jack Philip Oppenheim remain the central facts of a tragedy that claimed two lives on a Virginia interstate.