RICHMOND, Va. — Tens of millions of people from around the world visited WTVR.com in 2019. There are many reasons why people land on a particular website for news. Sometimes it’s a catchy headline or a compelling photo. Sometimes it’s through a search engine, a timely push alert, or a social media share.
At the end of the year, a handful of stories on WTVR.com rose above the rest in terms of the number of people who clicked through to read.
The following is a list of stories that garnered the most web traffic on the site.
Young mom killed moments after Snapchat post: Her family is now pushing for change
Lakin Ashlyn’s mother held the last picture of her daughter: a Snapchat photo taken seconds before she flipped her car and died near West Point, Virginia in November 2017. Ashlyn’s family has joined a coalition of lawmakers and law enforcement pushing to pass a hands-free driving bill during the 2019 Virginia General Assembly Session.
“I used to be on my phone all the time,” Lakin’s cousin Tabitha Clark said. “You’re being selfish if you are on your phone and doing whatever, but just driving.” Read more here.
Gordon Ramsay spotted in Virginia helping family-owned restaurant
Gordon Ramsay (Photo by Tim P. Whitby/Getty)
Television star and celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay was spotted in Virginia over the weekend helping a family-owned restaurant.
Photos and video recorded Sunday showed Ramsay outside Lowery’s Seafood Restaurant in Tappahannock filming his show “24 Hours to Hell and Back.” In the show, Ramsay travels the country and does his best to rescue “failing restaurants” in a 24-hour time period. Read more here.
Toddler dies after sex assault in Richmond motel room
The mother of a Richmond toddler who died after a sexual assault spoke to CBS 6 Crime Insider Jon Burkett following her daughter’s death.
Nariah Brown was 17 months old.
The toddler died Friday from injuries she suffered after a violent sexual assault at a South Richmond motel, police said. Her mom, Aija Brown, said she left her daughter in the room with a person she trusted. Read more here.
69 vehicles involved in chain-reaction crash that closed I-64
A chain-reaction crash involving at least 69 vehicles shut down I-64 in York County and left left 51 people injured Sunday morning, according to the Virginia State Police.
Troopers received the first calls about the multi-vehicle crash in the westbound lanes of I-64 on the Queens Creek bridge just after 7:50 a.m.
“Due to icy conditions on the bridge and severe fog, the crashes continued in both the westbound and then the eastbound lanes of I-64,” Sgt. Michelle Anaya with Virginia State Police said. Read more here.
3 stabbed at Petersburg plasma center; police search suspect’s home
A suspect is in custody after “several” people were stabbed Thursday afternoon at a plasma center in Petersburg, according to Petersburg Police Chief Kenneth Miller.
Police were called to the Octapharma Plasma center in the 2000 block of Sycamore Street near the intersection of Crater Road around 4:40 p.m. That is when police said a man walked into the plasma center and used a “cutting instrument” to hurt several people inside. Read more here.
Man arrested for killing Tommie the dog: ‘I snapped’
The man charged for killing Tommie the dog said he “blacked out” and “snapped” after the dog bit his daughter.
Jyahshua A. Hill, 20, was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force on May 20 and charged with felony animal cruelty following a months long investigation into the death of Tommie. Tommie, who was named by his rescuers, was found tied to an Abner Clay Park fence and set on fire the night of February 10, 2019. Read more here.
AMBER Alert Update: Isabel Hicks, 14, is safe; alleged abductor in custody
Isabel Hicks, the 14-year-old Louisa County girl who was the subject of an AMBER Alert, and her alleged abductor Bruce Lynch were found Wednesday night.
The pair was stopped in a vehicle in Caroline County after another driver spotted the suspect’s vehicle and called police, Burkett reported. Neither the teenage girl, nor the 33-year-old man were injured during the traffic stop on Page Road in Ladysmith. Read more here.
First he made sure they were safe, then this police officer laid down to play dolls with these girls
Gotham has Batman. Metropolis has Superman. Wakanda has Black Panther. And South Hill, Virginia has C.B. Fleming.
“They need someone who they feel is a superhero,” Iesha Roper-Boswell said while standing outside her Mecklenburg Manor apartment.
The 28-year-old mother said she believed her daughter and other children in the community have found such a superhero in Fleming, the 42-year-old South Hill Police corporal. Read more here.
