Man faces DUI and manslaughter charges in double fatal Portsmouth crash

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) - Portsmouth police arrested Christopher M. Gaskin, 33, in connection with a Feb. 12 crash that killed two people. Gaskin faces two counts of aggravated involuntary manslaughter and a DUI charge. The collision occurred just before 11 p.m. at the intersection of High Street and Elm Avenue. Officers found 23-year-old Ny Asia Hill and 24-year-old Deandre Lilly unresponsive in their vehicle, and both were pronounced deceased at the scene. The Portsmouth Police Department said the investigation determined Gaskin was traveling westbound on High Street at a high rate of speed, allegedly failed to obey a traffic signal, and struck the victims' vehicle, which had the right of way. Police said the force of the initial impact pushed the vehicle carrying Hill and Lilly into a stationary pickup truck. Gaskin was transported to a local hospital for treatment of injuries sustained during the crash. Gaskin faces a DUI charge with an enhanced penalty for having a blood alcohol content of 0.20 or higher. In addition to the manslaughter and DUI charges, he was cited for reckless driving for failing to obey a traffic signal, no registration, failure to display license plates, and improper use of a safety belt. Officers took Gaskin into custody without incident on the evening of Feb. 19. The arrest followed an initial investigation by the department's Strategic Traffic Unit, which identified alcohol and speed as primary factors in the double fatality. The Portsmouth Police Department Strategic Traffic Unit is continuing the investigation. No additional details are available at this time. All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by WAVY. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat information into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by WAVY staff before being published.