BY ROBERT SORRELL | BRISTOL HERALD COURIER | | Posted: Thursday, January 15, 2015 9:58 pm
The man who died in a fire early Wednesday has been identified by Virginia State Police as 51-year-old Jimbo Wright.
The father of four was alone and unable to escape the fire that destroyed his Washington County residence, a family member and neighbors said.
State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said an individual’s body was found in the Pickett Lane home just outside of Abingdon. The body was taken to the medical examiner’s office in Roanoke for an autopsy and to confirm identification.
Geller said late Thursday the medical examiner identified the deceased man as Jimbo Wright.
Detectives with the Criminal Investigation Division in Wytheville have said the fire does not appear to be suspicious in nature. The cause has not been determined, Geller said.
Wright, according to his sister, Janie Barnett, leaves behind his wife and four children, including twin toddlers and two adults.
“His wife and twins were at her father’s house that night,” Barnett said.
She added that Wright, originally from the Bluefield, Virginia area, was a “very hard-working, kind man, who loved his children with all his heart.”
“Jimbo will be missed by all that knew and loved him,” Barnett said.
A neighbor, Charlie Coleman, said the Wrights, who he described as cordial, lived in the house for about six years. He said the couple’s nephew owned the house.
According to Wright’s Facebook page, he was a truck driver.