THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 23, 1996 TAG: 9607230244
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CINDY CLAYTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 52 lines
A tractor-trailer that overturned, and another accident involving a cement truck, halted eastbound traffic on Interstate 264 for four hours Monday morning and turned rush-hour commuting into social hour for many motorists.
State police and crews used large wreckers and heavy equipment to clear the trucks and a load of sand that spilled on the road. Meanwhile, stuck motorists turned off their ignitions and got out of their cars.
Two men exchanged business cards, one woman began telling others about an appointment she had missed, and a crowd of women cooed over 11-week-old twins being fed by their mother.
One motorist described people as ``settling in'' for the wait. For four hours, traffic slowed to a crawl, was stopped and was rerouted off the highway.
The first accident happened about 9:35 a.m. just east of the Broad Creek bridge, said Tammy Van Dame, state police spokeswoman.
Jeffrey L. White, who was driving a dump truck, lost control in the far left lane, crossed two lanes and hit a tractor-trailer, causing it to run up on the concrete barrier and overturn, spilling its load of sand, Van Dame said. The sand blocked two lanes of traffic and had to be removed by heavy equipment, she said.
James L. Hobbs, 58, of Portsmouth, the tractor-trailer driver, suffered minor injuries and was taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.
Van Dame said White, 29, of Chesapeake, was hauling a load of asphalt in his dump truck. He was charged with not having a commercial license and was not injured.
The second accident occurred shortly after the first as traffic slowed for about one-fourth of a mile behind the tractor-trailer.
Van Dame said the driver of a Chevrolet Camaro attempted to cut in front of a cement truck. The driver of the truck did not see the Camaro and hit it, spilling a small amount of cement onto the road.
No one was injured in that accident. State police didn't identify the drivers, but the Camaro driver was charged with improper lane change.
At one point, traffic was backed up to City Hall Avenue and state police were rerouting cars onto Ballentine Boulevard. The eastbound lanes were reopened about 1:30p.m. MEMO: Staff writer Toni Whitt, who was trapped in the backup,
contributed to this report. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
JOHN C. BELL
Wrecker driver Chip Hudson watches as another wrecker rights the
tractor-trailer that overturned on I-264 just east of the Broad
Creek Bridge on Monday. The driver suffered minor injuries.
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT TRAFFIC by CNB