50 to 60 vehicles involved in pileup on I-64 on Peninsula

NEWPORT NEWS

The largest of Wednesday morning’s multitude of accidents in whiteout snow conditions involved 50 to 60 vehicles but resulted in only minor injuries on westbound Interstate 64 near the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station, the Newport News Fire Department reported.

Rescue workers responded to a 10 a.m. call for a trapped motorist, said Battalion Chief Jay Culpepper, the incident commander.

“The first units on the scene called back to say it looks like it’s going to be a mass-casualty situation,” Culpepper said.

Wrecked vehicles blocked both lanes, with some in ditches or the median, he said. Emergency crews were forced to walk the half-mile length of the pileup, checking on motorists as they went.

There were 29 vehicles in the first grouping, Culpepper said, with subsequent clumps of about 10 vehicles each. No one was trapped and “miraculously,” he said, injuries were minor – no broken bones, and his crews only transported eight to the hospital.

“It was easily 50 vehicles involved,” Culpepper said. “Some were totaled. Some were only fender-benders. … For that few people to be injured that slightly, we were very fortunate.”

Culpepper said what also impressed him was how those involved reacted.

“Everybody behaved incredibly well,” he said. “People were helping one another. No one was upset; no one was making a spectacle of themselves. … “It was nice to deal with that. … In the end, people were giving each other rides away from the scene.”

James City County handled “multiple accidents” on I-64 and feeder roads from about 9:15 to 11 a.m., including a jackknifed tractor-trailer, said District Chief Bob Ryalls. Stalled traffic prevented plows and salt-spreaders from doing their work, worsening an already bad situation, he said.

State Police responded to 70 incidents in the area, but were still tallying up reports and had few details late today, said Sgt. Michelle Cotten, a spokeswoman.

Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel advisory

A high wind advisory was issued and tunnel officials have Level 2 restrictions in place. 

The following vehicles were prevented from crossing: 

- Motorcycles

- Large pick-up campers, camper trailers or anything being towed 

- Vehicles with exterior cargo

- Empty tractor-trailers

- Small six-wheel trucks such as moving vans 

- Rental trucks and school buses

Tractor-trailers with a gross 30,000 pounds of payload in addition to the weight of the rig and six-wheel trucks that gross 15,000 pounds of payload in addition to the weight of the rig were permitted to cross the span. Tractors without trailers and empty tankers were being permitted to cross.