THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 27, 1996 TAG: 9601270232
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 36 lines
A driver changing a tire on the shoulder of Interstate 64 near 4th View Street Friday was hit by a car that veered into him and amputated his left leg below the knee, state police said.
The rush-hour collision closed the interstate's westbound lanes for more than an hour while rescue crews worked to control the injured driver's bleeding and wreckers cleared the crumpled cars, police said.
Police identified the injured man as 22-year-old Matthew Lauther of Claysville, Pa. He was in surgery as of late Friday.
Lauther apparently had been retrieving the spare tire from the trunk of his 1995 Honda Accord when the driver of an approaching car swerved to avoid road debris and lost control of her two-door Mitsubishi, state police spokeswoman Tammy Van Dame said.
The Mitsubishi, driven by 29-year-old Lori Ann Rezner of Seaford, slammed into the rear of Lauther's Accord and sheared away the lower part of Lauther's left leg , police said.
The impact shoved the Accord into a station wagon driven by Lauther's traveling companion who had stopped to help. The driver of the station wagon wasn't hurt.
Also slightly injured was Lauther's mother, Mary E. Clemmens, 54, a passenger in the Accord.
State police charged Rezner with reckless driving.
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT TRAFFIC INJURIES by CNB