‘He doesn’t have a voice now’: Hanover father seeks answers after crash leaves one son dead, two injured

CAROLINE COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A Hanover County father is grieving the loss of one son and praying for the recovery of two others after a devastating crash on Interstate 95 Sunday night in Caroline County.

Timothy Jackson said his three sons -- 21-year-old Zane, 16-year-old Tobias and 14-year-old Boaz -- were driving home from an American Ninja Warrior competition in Sterling on Sunday, Oct. 5, when tragedy struck.

"Our family’s tight -- very tight," Jackson said. "We’ve got to break it to them somehow … [that] their older brother is never coming back."

Jackson said Tobias told him they were traveling in the center lane around 8:30 p.m. when another vehicle suddenly hit them from the side. Airbags deployed and the car lost power, leaving the brothers stranded in the middle of the highway.

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"My 21-year-old Zane, he called 911 -- reported it to Caroline County," Jackson said. "They said 'Okay, well, we're going to get deputies on the way. If there's anything else, call us back.' Five seconds later, a semi rear-ended on in ... that was the fatal part of the accident."

Zane, Tobias and Boaz Jackson. (Photo: Timothy Jackson)

Zane Jackson pictured with Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears. (Photo: Timothy Jackson)

He said Zane was taken to a hospital in Spotsylvania County, where he later died. His two younger brothers were rushed to VCU Medical Center with serious injuries. Tobias suffered a spinal fracture, while Boaz remains on a ventilator with severe head trauma.

"They’re hoping tomorrow they can take him off the ventilator, kind of wake him up a little bit," Jackson said.

Virginia State Police said the crash remains under investigation. At this stage, investigators believe it may have unfolded differently: that it was Zane who first hit another vehicle before coming to rest across the highway, where the brothers were then hit by a tractor-trailer.

No matter how things actually played out, Jackson said he just wants answers.

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“I would like to know exactly what happened, because my son -- he doesn’t have a voice now, he’s deceased," he said. "If there was any vehicle, any person that witnessed the first accident, in between, or the final collision ... please call 911 and be willing to step forward and say what happened. We hope and pray that there's another voice out there that can speak up for my son and say what happened."

Despite the heartbreak, the Jackson family -- which includes 12 children -- is holding onto hope.

"It's a great loss," Jackson said. "He [Zane] was the greatest son you could ever ask for."