THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 2, 1995 TAG: 9511020379
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY W. BROWN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines
The forecast this morning calls for mostly cloudy skies with scattered showers, conditions similar to those Wednesday that contributed to 15 accidents, including one death and a massive morning rush hour tie-up on I-64.
State police said a slippery mix of light rain and oily residue on the highways contributed to Wednesday's problems. They warned motorists to be careful today.
Yvette D. Johnson, 31, of Virginia Beach was killed about 10:25 a.m. Wednesday when the car she was driving west on Interstate 64 left the road about a mile east of the Greenbrier Parkway exit.
Police said Johnson apparently lost control of the 1986 Ford Escort. It swerved onto the right shoulder, went airborne and struck a cluster of trees. Johnson, who was alone, died at the scene.
Witnesses said the tires on the Escort were balding and appeared to wobble before she lost control, state police spokeswoman Tammy Van Dame reported.
Curious motorists did not help the situation. Two cars collided when the drivers slowed to look at the accident scene. The drivers suffered minor injuries, Van Dame said.
Two hours earlier, an accident involving four vehicles, including a rig hauling 40,000 pounds of tomatoes, tied up traffic for nearly five hours.
Van Dame had this account:
At 8:20 a.m. near the westbound Northampton Boulevard exit off I-64, the driver of a late-model Mercedes lost control while driving in the center lane. The car fishtailed and sideswiped a bus, forcing the bus to careen off the concrete median wall and hit a Toyota.
The Mercedes then spun to the far right lane, where a tractor-trailer was approaching. The truck hit the front of the Mercedes, flipped on its side and slid about 50 feet, police said.
The truck driver, Edlo Mason, 27, of Greenbush, Va., suffered minor injuries. The driver of the Mercedes, Virginia Fischer of Virginia Beach, was charged with reckless driving.
The truck blocked all westbound lanes, and traffic backed up to the Indian River Road exits before police opened HOV lanes to all vehicles. Traffic also was diverted onto Military Highway. The highway was cleared about 1:40 p.m.
The 15 accidents reported by state troopers occurred between 5 and 11 a.m.
``You have a bunch of ingredients,'' Van Dame said. ``It was not heavy rain, so it didn't wash all the oils off the road.''
Motorists can lose up to 30 percent of their traction when driving in the rain, said E. Wallace Timmons of the American Automobile Association in Norfolk.
``You have to reduce your speed by 30 percent . . . but people go on like it's regular clear road,'' Timmons said.
A light rain like Wednesday's can be more hazardous than a downpour, he said.
``Normally in the rain or in slick conditions, when it first rains, it's the slickest,'' he said. ``That's when the rubber is mixed in with oils on the streets.''
Timmons also cautioned drivers to maintain a three- to four-second stopping time between vehicles. They should also check their tires and windshield wipers and use headlights when visibility is low. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN/The Virginian-Pilot
Rescue workers at the scene of a fatal accident Wednesday morning on
Interstate 64: Yvette D. Johnson, 31, of Virginia Beach was killed
when her car swerved off I-64 about a mile east of the Greenbrier
Parkway exit.
RICHARD L. DUNSTON/The Virginian-Pilot
Traffic on I-64 was tied up for nearly five hours Wednesday when a
tractor-trailer overturned in a four-vehicle accident near the
westbound Northampton Boulevard exit.
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT TRAFFIC INJURIES FATALITY by CNB