Shortly after midnight Tuesday, Jan. 31, Virginia State Police received a report of a single-vehicle motor vehicle crash at Route 17 and Zandler Way, which had resulted in a fatality, according to Sgt. Michelle Anaya.

The Virginia State Police Communications Center received a call at 12:48 a.m. reporting the crash. A 2013 Ford F-550 flatbed tow truck, registered to Born to Grind Roadside Towing, was towing a Chrysler minivan and traveling southbound on Route 17 when the driver ran off the roadway into the median and struck a traffic signal pole, Anaya said.

The driver of the tow truck, 28-year-old Marquise Tashawn Haskins of Hopewell, was ejected from the vehicle and died from the injuries sustained in the crash. The male passenger was transported to Riverside Walter Reed Hospital with minor injuries.

Haskins was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. Neither speed nor alcohol appear to be factors at this time, Sgt. Anaya said. Notification has been made to next of kin.

This was the first motor vehicle fatality of 2023 in Gloucester County.