Man dies in attempt to remove road debris

LYNCHBURG — Heavy rainfall that fell on the area over the past two days should abate Friday after causing closed roads, downed trees, cresting rivers and at least one fatality.

The weather is blamed in the death of an Amherst County man early Thursday on Virginia 56 in Nelson County — one of three weather-related fatalities statewide.

Alger H. Fleming, 66, died after he was hit by a tractor-trailer carrying logs.

Fleming was driving east on the winding road at 4:35 a.m. when his pickup truck struck a large tree that had fallen across the road near the Tye River Bridge, said State Police spokesperson Corinne Geller.

Fleming put his hazard lights on and got out of his truck to survey the damage when an eastbound tractor-trailer came up behind his truck. The driver swerved into the westbound lane to avoid hitting the truck and struck Fleming, Geller said.

He died at the scene. No charges will be filed against the driver of the tractor-trailer.

Across the area, the downpours and their aftermath had the attention of police and other first-responders throughout the day on Thursday.

In Lynchburg, officials were keeping an eye on the James River but do not expect it to flood. The National Weather Service predicts the river will crest at 17.8 feet Friday, just below the action stage of 18 feet, which prompts emergency crews to take precautions to mitigate flood damage.

The river, however, is expected to crest just over four feet below flood stage.

Bill Aldrich, director of the city’s Emergency Communications Center, said Lynchburg fortunately did not bear the brunt of the storm.

“It’s mostly to the south and to the east of us,” he said. “There has been some localized flooding in low-lying spots and a couple of trees have lost their limbs, causing some electrical outages.”

The problems have been few and spread out, Aldrich said. Public works crews and city police officers have been checking spots that historically have had flooding problems, but often dispatchers rely on residents to report weather-related problems as they see them.

Campbell County authorities are preparing in case conditions deteriorate overnight, said Capt. Cindy Caldwell. Four deputies have been placed on emergency standby and flooding may happen around Mount Athos and in southern Campbell County, she said.

Both Smith Mountain Lake and Leesville Lake have exceeded full pond. Appalachian Power spokesman John Shepelwich said the company estimates that based on National Weather Service predictions, Smith Mountain Lake could reach 798 feet Friday, exceeding the last rain-swollen level set in 2004.

The company is increasing discharge from the Leesville Dam into the Staunton River to make room to let some water out of Smith Mountain Lake.

“Rivers are indeed slowing their rise and if we can get Leesville Lake’s level down quickly, we could start taking down Smith Mountain Lake soon,” Shepelwich said Thursday afternoon.

The company will monitor downstream river levels and adjust discharge flow accordingly.

The large rainfall inevitably caused basements to flood across the area. Tom Rogers of Steamway Carpet and Upholstery, said Thursday that they have received numerous calls about flooded basements.

“I just left one who had almost eight inches of water in the basement,” he said. “A lot of people don’t have insurance coverage. We end up doing a lot of advising.

“When you are sucking up water and people are paying out of their pockets, they are not happy at all.”

Staff writer Dave Thompson and Erin McGrath, a staff writer with the Nelson County Times, contributed.

Carrie J. Sidener is a staff writer for the Lynchburg News & Advance.