No less than 69 vehicles were caught up in a huge crash on a bridge in Virginia on Sunday, leaving scores of people with injuries ranging from minor to life threatening according to authorities.
Police say that the pileup started at approximately 7:51 a.m. at the Queen’s Creek bridge roughly 50 miles east of Richmond. Drivers report that the bridge was icy and that fog impeded vision.
Local driver Ivan Levy told USA Today that he and his wife were driving in separate vehicles to Williamsburg when he slowed down and turned on his hazard lights due to his fog. While he avoided the pile-up, his wife Alena Levy didn’t.
“Next thing I know I see cars just start piling up on top of each other,” Ivan Levy said.
Crash Season: Havoc Reigns As Over 50 Vehicles Get In Huge Pileup In Iowa
Spokesman for Riverside Regional Medical Center, Peter Glagola, said that one passenger was in critical condition while several others suffered less severe injuries. “One patient has serious injuries, five are being treated for moderate injuries, and 18 for minor injuries,” he said.
However, the Virginia Gazette reported that Steve Kopczyinski, chief of York County Fire and Life Safety, said that “fifty-one people involved in the accident were taken to hospitals. Of the injuries, 11 were considered serious, and two were considered life-threatening”.
Footage from the incident shows dozens of smashed cars with some left in particularly precarious positions on the edges of the bridge. It’s fortunate that no one was killed.
Authorities closed all eastbound lanes on I-64 where the crashed occurred for approximately three hours while westbound lanes were closed for even longer as the damaged cars were removed.
https://www.facebook.com/YorkPoquosonSheriff/photos/a.671375146261218/2734481873283858/
Image credits Virginia State Police