Stafford man killed in crash

BY SCOTT SHENK

A 51-year-old Stafford County man died Thursday morning at Old Mill Park after his car sped out of control and crashed into a tree.

The man, Paul Hinson, may have suffered a medical emergency while he was driving into the lot, Fredericksburg police said.

“It’s really a shame,” said friend Charles Randall of Stafford. He is among a group of friends, including the victim, who regularly meet at the park to walk.

He saw the victim’s 1998 Mercury pull into the lot shortly before 11 a.m., at a slow speed as usual, he said.

After he turned to talk to a friend, Randall heard the gravel kick up as the car sped across the parking lot. It then jumped a curb and went about 50 yards through the park’s field and hit a tree next to a shelter. No one else was injured.

“It was like a bomb going off,” Randall said of the impact of the crash.

Hinson was still conscious after the crash, but not for long, said Natatia Bledsoe, Fredericksburg 

Police Department spokeswoman.

Two people went to Hinson’s aid, performing CPR on the man, who lay on the ground next to his car.

A pair of city police officers soon arrived and started working on the man, Bledsoe said. The officers performed CPR and used a portable defibrillator.

Rescue personnel then arrived and began treating Hinson, but he died next to his car.

A short time after the incident, about a dozen people were enjoying the park on the hot summer day. Some weren’t far from the cordoned-off area where Hinson’s body, covered by white cloth, lay next to his crumpled car.

Bledsoe said the cause of death hasn’t been  determined, but “it sure does look like a medical emergency.”

Scott Shenk:  540/374-5436

sshenk@freelancestar.com

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