Man killed crossing U.S. 29 near India Road on February 20

A 59-year-old man was killed Tuesday night after being struck by a moving vehicle on U.S. 29 near India Road. The Albemarle County Police Department reported Wednesday morning that Charles Russell Gray of Charlottesville was transported to the University of Virginia Medical Center but later died of his injuries. 

“The Albemarle County Police Department is asking for witnesses to this crash to please contact ACPD’s Traffic Unit at 434-296-5807 or, for those who wish to remain anonymous, Crime Stoppers at 434-977-4000 or crimestoppers@albemarle.org,” the release reads.

The Albemarle County Police Department Fatal Crash Reconstruction Team has been reviewing the incident. The incident was not a hit-and-run as the driver stayed after the incident, according to county officials.  There was only one vehicle involved. 

This is the first pedestrian death in Albemarle County of 2024.

The general area where Gray was struck and killed is the location of a planned pedestrian bridge in the planning stages. India Road leads into the Seminole Square Shopping Center in the city of Charlottesville. Across U.S. 29 is Stonefield. 

“The pedestrian bridge that is across U.S. 29 is still in design,” said Will Stowe, the construction manager for several projects being built in the Hydraulic Road area. More from that interview in a future newsletter.

This is not the first pedestrian death in the area. 

• On January 13, 2023, a pedestrian was struck and killed crossing U.S. 29 at Fashion Square Mall, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation’s crash database.
• Another person was killed the same way on November 3, 2020. 
• Another pedestrian was killed on Rio Road at Fashion Square Mall on June 19, 2022. 
• Another pedestrian was killed on October 25, 2019 crossing U.S. 29 across from Rivanna Plaza near Gander Drive.
• There were no pedestrian fatalities in Albemarle in 2017 or 2018. 

More housing units are slated to be built right along U.S. 29 which could lead to additional pedestrians being in the area. Virginia Supportive Housing continues to raise funding for an 80-unit facility on the site of the former Red Carpet Inn with both Albemarle and Charlottesville having committed new funds to close a gap. 

According to Albemarle’s development dashboard, there are 227 apartments under construction in one building at Stonefield and a site plan for another 112 units approved in another building. Across U.S. 29 in Charlottesville, the Great Eastern Management Company has filed a site plan for 352 units in a redeveloped Seminole Square Shopping Center.

Less than half a mile to the north are two suburban uses that may soon be converted to a more urban form. Plans have been filed in the city of Charlottesville to redevelop the Hibachi Grill and Supreme Buffet at 1185 Seminole Trail as a four story apartment building with 250 apartments. That project will be accessible from both U.S. 29 and Hillsdale Drive and will be one of the last developments reviewed under the city’s old zoning. 

RMD Properties has filed a rezoning for 1193 Seminole Trail just across the line into Albemarle. The original proposal submitted last February sought a range between 200 and 290 units, but the number of places to live was reduced to a range of between 50 and 165.

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