Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 13, 1990 TAG: 9003133249
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Gregory Wood, 23, received the term in Roanoke Circuit Court.
Four people were injured the night of June 15 when a drunken Wood rammed at least six cars - leaving a path of damage and injuries from 11th Street and Loudon Avenue Northwest to Cove Road in Roanoke County, where his car overturned.
In pleading guilty earlier to four counts of hit-and-run with personal injury, Wood said he could not remember the wrecks due to a blackout caused by grain alcohol and crack cocaine.
Wood was not being pursued by police at the time of the accidents, nor was he speeding.
He just kept driving after each wreck, Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Melvin Hill said.
In asking for a prison term for Wood, Hill described him as a man who "ran amok" as he drove on Melrose Avenue, Peters Creek Road and Cove Road.
"It's just by sheer luck . . . that no one was killed," Hill said.
But defense attorney Charlie Phillips appealed for leniency, citing his client's lack of a previous criminal record and his efforts to overcome a drug problem.
"He's a young man who just got drunk . . . and had a very bad time of it," Phillips said.
No one was seriously injured in the accidents, although several people were treated at hospitals, Hill said.
In imposing a four-year sentence - which may be served on work release - Judge Diane Strickland also sentenced Wood to 90 days for a fifth hit-and-run charge that involved only property damage. Strickland also suspended Wood's driver's license and ordered him to complete three years of probation after he is released from jail.
by CNB