20-year-old airman changing tire is killed in hit-and-run, Virginia reports say
_fitted.png "Makai Cummings, 20, was from Maryland but was stationed with the Air Force in North Carolina, family members told WWBT.")
A 20-year-old airman was fatally struck by another vehicle while changing his tire in Virginia, officials and family members say.
Makai Cummings’ body was found lying on I-295 in Hanover County just after 2 a.m. on Monday, May 8, according to a news release from Virginia State Police.
Investigators said Cummings’ car was broken down. While trying to change his tire on the side of the road, he was hit by a passing vehicle.
The driver who struck Cummings fled the scene, police said.
Cummings — who police said was originally from Nottingham, Maryland — was an airman stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro, North Carolina, family members told WWBT.
The base did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin spoke about Cummings at an event on Monday, according to WTVR.
“We have a stop for a minute and just the tragedy of that moment and the reality that the simple act of changing a tire on the side of the road is that dangerous,” Youngkin said.
Hanover County is about 20 miles north of Richmond.
This story was originally published May 9, 2023 at 12:29 PM with the headline "20-year-old airman changing tire is killed in hit-and-run, Virginia reports say."
