Police ID I-64 crash victim; all lanes reopened to traffic

CHESAPEAKE

A 72-year-old woman died and two others were injured in a crash just before noon on Interstate 64 East near the High-Rise Bridge, state police said.

A tanker carrying carbon dioxide was traveling west bound when it crossed over a median and struck a 2002 Honda Odyssey minivan head-on near Exit 296, for U.S. 17, according to police.

Sue Ratcliffe Beazley, 72, a passenger in the minivan, died at the scene. The minivan's driver, Donald Franklin Beazley, 75, of Littleton, N.C., was airlifted to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.

The driver of the tanker, identified by police as 55-year-old Gary Allen Saunders of Windsor, was also flown to the hospital. Sgt. Michelle Cotten, Virginia State Police spokeswoman, said Saunders suffered a “medical-related incident,” but she did not know what the incident was or if it contributed to the crash.

The crash shut down I-64 East for hours this afternoon. All lanes of travel were reopened to traffic about 5:30 p.m.

Charges are pending a review by the Commonwealth's Attorney's office, Cotten said.