Police: Man killed in crash after trying to pass 3 vehicles on I-81 exit ramp

A West Virginia man is dead after police say he tried to pass three vehicles on an I-81 exit ramp on Wednesday evening.

According to West Virginia State Police, they were called to a multi-vehicle crash on an Interstate 81 exit ramp at 8:40 p.m. on Oct. 9.

Police say 35-year-old Brandon White, of Augusta, West Virginia, was driving south on I-81 in a 2012 Nissan Xterra when he got onto the ramp for Exit 5 in Inwood, WV, traveling at a high rate of speed.

Investigators say White tried to pass three vehicles that were also exiting the interstate and sideswiped all three before hitting the guardrail on the right side of the ramp, crashing through the guardrail, and then rolling multiple times through a wooded area before the vehicle finally came to a stop upright.

White was pronounced dead at the scene by first responders. He was not wearing a seat belt, and investigators suspect alcohol was a factor in the crash, in addition to speed.

A passenger in the vehicle suffered serious injuries, but is expected to recover.

The drivers of the vehicles police say White sideswiped were all uninjured.

Investigation is ongoing. The Berkeley County Ambulance Authority, Medic 983, and the South Berkeley Fire Department all cooperated in response to the scene.