‘He was our backbone’: Deadly Hanover crash leaves loved ones devastated

HANOVER COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — The eldest daughter of a Mechanicsville man now faces life without the person she called her backbone after a deadly crash in Dec. 2024.

On Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, 55-year-old Teddy Randall Barton of Mechanicsville was the passenger in a 2007 Dodge Ram when a 2019 Ford Edge moving west on Mechanicsville Turnpike at a high rate of speed collided with them.

Barton was ejected due to the force of impact. The driver of the Ram and Barton's partner, Dawn Mason, was also injured, suffering a broken pelvis.

Both were taken to Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center with significant injuries.

Jessica Beale, Barton's eldest daughter, told 8News that Barton had several broken bones and a brain bleed. He later died the evening of Jan. 12, three weeks after the crash.

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"He was our lifesaver, he was our backbone, he was somebody that you can never replace in our life," Beale said in an exclusive interview with 8News. "[He] made sure that we were always good in life — always gave us the encouragement to get up and do it [and] that we always had his blood, that we were strong enough to do it ... and, now, he is no longer with us."

Deputies with the Hanover County Sheriff's Office arrested the driver of the Ford Edge, 53-year-old David Murray Edquest, of no known address.

Authorities confirmed to 8News that Edquest was charged with driving under the influence (DUI) and maiming as the result of DUI at the time of the crash. Warrants for his arrest were served in the early morning hours after the incident on Dec. 23, 2024.

Two days after Barton's death, on Jan. 14, deputies obtained an aggravated vehicular manslaughter warrant for Edquest. He was released on bond the next day.

In total, as of the time of reporting, Edquest currently faces four charges: DUI, two counts of maiming as the result of DUI and involuntary manslaughter.

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"I want it to where he can't hurt nobody else, because I don't want anybody to ever go through this pain of losing a loved one -- a parent, at that," Beale said. "A parent is somebody you can't replace the love or the care or anything that they give you. I want justice so he can't hurt nobody else."

Barton's passing now leaves Beale to find a balance: she, alongside her sister, has grown depressed with the passing of their father -- but Beale also has to carry the weight of raising her own two children and remaining strong for her family.

(Photo: Jessica Beale)

(Photo: Jessica Beale)

"I think about him all the time -- I sit down on his couch and I wonder if he's going to come home, and I'm just waiting for him to come home every day," she said.

Barton had recently purchased a home roughly two years ago, which Beale said she will continue to pay in honor of his life and his dreams.

"I told myself he doesn't have 30 years anymore, [and] that I will walk in his footsteps and I will take over everything for him, and I will make sure all his dreams are possible," Beale said.

Mason sent 8News a statement via email that reads, in part:

"David Edquest has ruined my life and definitely Teddy Barton’s family. He has turned all of our lives apart. I hope that justice will be served for Teddy and that man gets everything that he deserves." Dawn Mason, victim involved in fatal crash

If you'd like to support Barton's family, you can do so here.

The crash remains under investigation, with a spokesperson for the sheriff's office telling 8News that it continues to interview witnesses.