Man charged for crashing car into pond

FISHERSVILLE — A driver lost control of his car Wednesday morning and rode 150 feet off Route 250 into a shallow pond.

Shaun Snead, 23, of Waynesboro, was driving westbound about a 1/2 mile past Goose Greek Road when he struck a mailbox at about 8:30 a.m., crossed over oncoming eastbound lanes and drove down an embankment through bushes and grasses into the pond, said Virginia State Police Trooper Aaron Coffey.

The Waynesboro First Aid Crew waited about an hour for a tow truck to partially remove the green 1999 Pontiac Sunfire from the pond before loading Snead onto a stretcher and transporting him to Augusta Health.

Details of his injuries were unavailable, but Snead was conscious at the scene and communicative at the hospital, Coffey said.

Authorities brought a DUI charge against Snead and await lab results to learn the nature of his intoxication, Coffey said.

Rescuers retrieved a purple can of 3M Dust Remover from the car before pulling Snead onto a waiting stretcher.

Coffey said the can will be part of the crash investigation but would not comment further. Emergency personnel told the trooper they saw the driver inhaling from the can while sitting in the car, which was immersed in 2 feet of water.

“He has no memory of the crash,” Coffey said. “It would be safe to assume speed was a factor. He never laid on the brakes.”

Snead was released from the hospital with a court summons.

At least one other driver headed eastbound spoke with Coffey about witnessing the crash, said the trooper, who added that such an accident is rare in the area.

“Vehicle in a pond: that would be my first,” he said.