THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 8, 1995 TAG: 9510080031
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
Sudden downpours that flooded parts of streets and highways, cut visibility and left roads slick were blamed Saturday for contributing to several accidents.
Today is expected to bring clearing skies, however, and return to more seasonal fall weather.
The most serious accident Saturday occurred in Virginia Beach just before 3 p.m. in the 3800 block of Shore Drive when one vehicle slammed into three other vehicles stopped at a traffic light. Three people were injured, two seriously.
Police said Kori Holloway, 18, of the 1200 block of N. Inlynnview Road, was driving in the left lane of westbound Shore Drive in a Honda with two passengers.
As the Honda approached the Three Ships Inn, three vehicles in front of it stopped for a traffic light. The Honda rammed the back of a Mercedes, slamming it into a Mazda which then hit a Jeep Wagoneer.
Police said the Mercedes was totaled and that the Honda and the Mazda were heavily damaged.
Holloway and a 16-year-old front-seat passenger were thrown into the car's windshield and seriously injured. A 20-year-old man in the back seat also was hurt. Police said none was wearing a seatbelt. All were taken to Virginia Beach General Hospital.
Witnesses said it was raining at the time of the accident, police said, although there was disagreement on how heavily it was raining. Police said speed and lack of driver attention contributed to the wreck.
No charges had been placed Saturday night. The accident was still under investigation.
The accident closed the westbound lanes of Shore Drive for almost 2 1/2 hours.
Saturday's rains came as a cold front was moving east across Virginia and North Carolina. It was running into unseasonably warm, moist air - the remains of Hurricane Opal.
Rainfall amounts varied widely depending on where one was Saturday. Just over a quarter-inch of rain was measured at the National Weather Service office at Norfolk International Airport. More than twice that amount fell at Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach and just over 1 inch fell in the Sherry Park section of Virginia Beach. Meanwhile, only .09 of an inch fell at the Norfolk Naval Air Station.
Cooler and drier air is moving in behind the front.
Today's forecast is for partly sunny skies with a high in the middle 70s. Tonight is expected to be clear with a low near 50 inland and in the upper 50s at the shore.
Monday is likely to be mostly sunny with a high between 70 and 75.
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT TRAFFIC INJURIES by CNB