CHESAPEAKE -- One person was killed and two people were injured when a minivan and a tanker truck collided in Chesapeake Tuesday morning.
Virginia State Police say the truck crossed the median and struck the minivan head-on around 11:30 a.m.
WVEC viewer Ben Manning, who was driving on I-64 West, said it took him an hour to get from the Deep Creek on-ramp and out of any gridlock.
"I saw a lot of fire and police all over the place and the tail end of the tractor trailer sticking out of the woods," he told WVEC.com.
He says he didn't see any skidmarks on the roadway but adds he saw marks in the median as he passed the scene around 1:20 p.m.
The crash forced authorities to close I-64 East just west of the High Rise Bridge. Six hours later, around 5:40 p.m., the Interstate was reopened.
Sue Ratcliffe Beazley, 72, of Lumberton, NC was killed; her husband, Donald Franklin Beazley, 75, was flown by Nightingale to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where he's listed in fair condition Wednesday morning.. The truck driver, Gary Allen Saunders, 55, of Windsor, also was flown to the hospital and was in good condition, hospital officials said.
With the roadway finally reopened to traffic, the evening commute was still expected to be slow.
Charges are pending, based on a review by the commonwealth's attorney office, said Va. State Police spokeswoman Sgt. Michelle Cotten.
