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Wreck on Interstate 95 sends 11 to hospital Date published: 7/6/2007
BY BILL FREEHLING
Six adults and five children were taken to area hospitals yesterday after a three-vehicle wreck on Interstate 95 in Spotsylvania County, police said. The wreck occurred about 1:30 p.m. at mile marker 120.5, said state police Sgt. F.L. Tyler. All southbound lanes closed for about 40 minutes to allow three emergency helicopters to land and take off. They all reopened a couple of hours later. Yesterday's wreck came about 15 hours after another accident in Spotsylvania that killed a 21-year-old man and sent four more people to hospitals. Two young children were hurt in that one. Authorities say the Independence Day holiday is typically the deadliest on the nation's highways, and traffic is expected to be heavy as travelers return home this weekend. Yesterday, a 2007 Ford Expedition was in the left lane of southbound I-95 when it lost control, ran off to the left and hit a guardrail, Tyler said. It returned to the travel lanes and was clipped in the rear by a tractor-trailer in the center lane. The Expedition then crashed with a Toyota RAV4 in the southbound right lane, Tyler said. Both the Expedition and Toyota went down an embankment on the right side of the road. Four adults and two children were in the Expedition, Tyler said. The occupants appeared to be from Prince George's County, Md. The Toyota carried two adults and three children apparently from Staten Island, N.Y. All 11 of the occupants in the two vehicles were taken to area hospitals. Three were flown out while the other eight went to Mary Washington Hospital. The extent of the injuries was not immediately known. The driver of the tractor-trailer was not hurt. Trooper F.G. Childs is investigating the wreck. The Wednesday night wreck occurred about 10:40 on westbound State Route 3 about a half-mile east of the State Route 20 intersection, Tyler said. A westbound 2001 Volvo appeared to be speeding when the driver switched from the right to the left lane, Tyler said. The Volvo sideswiped a 2001 Dodge Durango SUV that had two small children in the back. The Volvo then swerved back to the right, Tyler said. It went off the road and down an embankment before overturning. The driver of the Volvo, 21-year-old Michael Warren Smith of Spotsylvania, wasn't wearing a seatbelt and was ejected, Tyler said. He died at the scene. A female passenger in the Volvo was flown to Inova Fairfax Hospital, Tyler said. Tyler didn't have any information on her identity or the severity of her injuries. Diana Lynn Wallace, a 31-year-old Orange County woman, was driving the SUV, Tyler said. Her 2-year-old girl and 4-month-old boy were properly secured in rear child seats. Wallace and the two children were taken to Mary Washington Hospital, Tyler said. The extent of their injuries is unclear. Trooper J.C. Jeanty is investigating the wreck. All lanes of westbound State Route 3 opened about three hours after the wreck. Bill Freehling: 540/374-5424Email: bfreehling@freelancestar.com
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