Hampton U. track team hurt in crash injuring 15

NEWPORT NEWS

Eleven people in a van carrying the Hampton University track team were taken to a hospital Saturday morning after a chain-reaction crash on Interstate 64 west on the Peninsula, Virginia State Police said. Four other people were also hospitalized.

State Police charged three drivers. Six vehicles were involved, said Sgt. Scott Edelman of the State Police.

The crash happened at 10:45 a.m. about a mile west of Exit 247, for Lee Hall, Edelman said.

The injuries were not considered life-threatening. All 15 people were taken to Mary Immaculate Hospital in Newport News.

I-64 west was shut down for an hour, he said. All lanes were not open until 12:30 p.m.

Kenneth Briggs of Norfolk, who was driving a delivery truck, was charged with reckless driving. Aldrin Gray of Hampton, who was driving a van, was charged with following at an unsafe distance, and Elizabeth Neher of Falls Church, who was also driving a van, was charged with following at an unsafe distance.

It was part of a messy day for interstate traffic on the Peninsula.

A single-vehicle accident on I-64 west in Newport News that happened about 4:20 p.m. backed the interstate up into the evening. The driver of a pickup lost control, and a camper he was hauling tipped over, State Police said.

Patrick Wilson, (757) 446-2957, patrick.wilson@pilotonline.com