THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 20, 1994 TAG: 9410200416
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Short : 33 lines
A tractor-trailer that swerved to avoid hitting cars that had slowed suddenly on Interstate 64 ran up onto a line of concrete barricades Wednesday, fracturing its fuel tanks and creating a huge tie-up.
Traffic was backed up from the accident scene, just east of the twin bridges, to Wards Corner. It took 3 1/2 hours to clean up the mess.
State police said the accident occurred at 3:25 p.m. on eastbound I-64 at the point where traffic heading for Indian River Road must separate from regular interstate traffic. Because of extensive road work in the area, the exit for Indian River is temporarily more than a mile long.
Police said the tractor-trailer, en route to Chesapeake from Richmond, veered into the barricades when the driver sought to avoid traffic that suddenly slowed in front of him.
The truck ran up and onto the barricades, and both of its 100-gallon diesel fuel tanks ruptured, spilling an estimated 150 gallons of fuel.
Police had to close all but two lanes of the road throughout the rush hour while crews cleaned up the spill and removed the truck.
The driver, who was not injured, was charged with reckless driving and failure to maintain control of his vehicle.
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT TRAFFIC FUEL SPILL by CNB