SUFFOLK, VA – Two Gates County citizens tragically lost their lives after a Tuesday morning crash on Carolina Road (Route 32).

The victims have been identified as Dale Warren Saunders, 59, and Gail G. Ayers, 60, both of Corapeake, according to information released by the City of Suffolk.

Saunders served five terms on the Gates County Board of Education, to include holding the position of Vice Chairman. He was seeking a sixth term in 2012, but lost that bid in the May Primary election.

The head-on crash happened in the 5000 block of Route 32, just north of the state line near the Deer Forest Road intersection, according to the release. It was reported at 6:28 a.m.

The accident involved a Toyota Tacoma pick-up, driven by Saunders, and a Dodge Caliber SUV, driven by Ayers, according to the release. Both drivers were entrapped and had to be extricated by Suffolk Fire & Rescue and EMS personnel. One was pronounced dead at the scene, and the other was airlifted by Nightingale to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital where they later succumbed.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation.