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We were saddened to read about a fatal Williamsburg crash that claimed two lives and left six injured on Friday night.
The three-vehicle accident occurred on Monticello Ave., and Ironbound Road around 9 p.m.
A report on WAVY.com said the fatal Williamsburg crash was caused by a driver who was escaping from a police stop. He was one of the fatalities.
Virginia State Police said a Dodge Avenger was traveling west on Monticello Avenue at a high rate of speed when entered the intersection at Ironbound Road. It T-boned a Toyota Sienna van in the side. The van was heading south on Ironbound Road at the moment of impact. The crash caused one of the vehicles to hit a Mercedes-Benz that was also traveling southbound on Ironbound Road.
State police said the driver of the Avenger was Leon W. Coles Jr., a 40-year-old man from Williamsburg. Two children aged 8 and 10 were passengers in the car. They were transported to Riverside Hospital in Newport News for the treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
Police said Coles was not wearing a seatbelt, although the children were.
The other driver who dies was behind the wheel of the Toyota van. He was identified as Hamed Kamel Juma, 58, of Williamsburg. Juma’s wife and two children were all transported to Riverside Regional Hospital in Newport News. Police said they suffered serious injuries.
The 62-year-old driver of the Mercedes was also transported to Riverside Regional Hospital. His injuries were described as serious but non-life threatening.
Our thoughts are with the families who lost a loved one and the injured. We wish them a speedy recovery. It’s tragic that the actions of one driver caused such a massive amount of suffering.
Police said the driver of the Dodge Avenger was fleeing from a Williamsburg police officer who tried to make a traffic stop related to an earlier incident.
The investigation is ongoing. Reports of a driver traveling erratically before the crash were not confirmed. Police have not disclosed whether alcohol or drugs were factors in the fatal Williamsburg crash. It’s not clear if an active police chase was taking place before the wreck.
Every year alcohol and speed or a combination of the two factors claim thousands of lives. High speed is a common factor in as many as a third of all fatal road crashes.
If you have lost a loved one or been injured in a crash, you may have grounds to make a claim on the insurance policy of the at-fault driver. Call our Virginia fatal accidents crash team at (757) 455-0077 for a free consultation.