Rain pounded on Interstate 95 as a state contracted safety patrol worker rushed over to help a driver who had crashed into a guardrail near Dumfries, Virginia Sept. 6, just before 8 p.m.
That worker was 48-year-old Chad Freeland, who is described as a loving partner, father and dedicated safety service patrolman.
As he was helping that driver, a traffic camera video shows another car, a Chrysler, losing control and sliding across all lanes of traffic right at him. He can be seen in the video standing by the driver he was helping.
Chad Freeland was hit and killed and the driver he was helping was also injured, according to Virginia State Police.
“He was actually not supposed to work that night. He was covering for a coworker,” said his brother, Bryant Freeland.
Bryant Freeland reached out to News4 to bring attention to the fact that nearly a month has gone by and the driver who hit his brother still hasn’t been charged.
“We really are just looking for answers, accountability and justice for my brother and his children,” he said.
Chad Freeland and his partner, Stephanie, were raising the three children together: 16-year-olds Isabella and Ariana and 3-year-old Liam.
“It compounds it more on the fact of having to answer to his children, to my wife, his nieces and nephews, and when we try to tell them that we live in a world where this isn’t supposed to happen, and when it does, that people will be held accountable and justice will be served, and then arms and shrugged and just saying, ‘ah.’” Bryant Freedland said.
After speaking with the family, News4 reached out to the Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office to ask about the status of the case. Commonwealth’s Attorney Amy Ashworth responded saying Tuesday morning, she met with the prosecutor handling this case, and they again reviewed the evidence and looked at video. She says they are carefully looking at all of the evidence here and they will be in touch with the family when charging decisions are made.
Ashworth said, in part, ”I appreciate that it is frustrating – however, we sometimes have to take that additional time to review the evidence and see what other evidence, if any, can be obtained prior to bringing charges. These are not always easy decisions to make, especially when there has been a loss of life.”
“Stephanie’s alone. Liam doesn’t have a father, Isa doesn’t have a father, Ari doesn’t have a stepfather and we’re all without a brother and uncle,” Bryant Freeland said. “And there are people on the road now without someone that’s there looking out for them.”
Chad Freeland’s family said Virginia State Police told them they did not conduct a drug or alcohol screening on the driver who killed Chad.
News4 reached out to Virginia State Police asking the agency to clarify its protocol on when a driver involved in a fatal crash would have their blood drawn for analysis. A state police spokesperson responded saying the agency is still consulting with prosecutors but the crash is not a suspected DUI crash. The spokesperson did not answer News4’s questions about protocol for conducting a blood analysis.
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