THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 25, 1996 TAG: 9605250500
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 29 lines
Large-caliber military ammunition found in the debris of a three-car accident Thursday was not live, police said Friday But investigators are still trying to figure out why one of the drivers had the shells.
Many of the large shells were found on a church lawn at Princess Anne Road and Edwin Drive, where the crash happened about 7:15 p.m.
As a precaution Thursday night, police closed part of Princess Anne Road while the city's bomb squad gathered the shells.
Bomb squad members at the time said they thought the ammunition was live.
Police said the driver who allegedly caused the accident, Dale Gangaware, 28, is a government contractor. But they did not know how he got the shells or why he had them. That part of the investigation has been turned over to agents of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, said fire spokesman Mike Wade.
Police also said Gangaware, of the 3800 block of Tiffany Lane, had been drinking before the crash. Charges are pending against him, police spokesman Lou Thurston said.
The drivers of two other cars involved in the crash were not seriously hurt.
One was treated at Sentara Bayside Hospital and released. The other did not require medical attention.
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT TRAFFIC INJURIES EXPLOSIVES by CNB