Hurricane Matthew Linked Wrecks Claim Lives in Hampton Roads

Two Hurricane Matthew linked deaths were reported in Hampton Roads as the storm hit hard over the weekend.

Officials said the driver of the pickup truck lost his life when he rear-ended a tractor-trailer that was stopped for a fallen tree on Interstate 64 in Chesapeake. A number of trees fell on I-64 with the Bowers Hill area particularly badly affected.

The death was categorized as storm-related by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. Spokeswoman Dawn Brantley. The driver was later identified by Virginia State Police as Anthony E. Longoria, 38, of Carsville, Virginia.

A 36-year-old man was killed in a single vehicle accident in the Isle of Wight. Virginia State Police said Linwood Morris Barnes was driving south on Route 708 on Sunday. He ran off the highway, struck a culvert, went up onto an embankment and overturned. Barnes was reportedly not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.

The National Guard helps with Hurricane Matthew response in Virginia

The storm led to the closures of numerous flooded roads in the seven cities with states of emergency declared in Norfolk, Hampton, Newport News, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth and Middlesex County.

Almost 70 people made use of shelters in Hampton, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach.

Images of the flooding in Hampton Roads revealed many cars stranded in rising flood waters as the storm swept the region.

More than 142,000 customers remained without power early across Hampton Roads Sunday evening, according to Dominion Virginia Power’s outage map.

Hurricane Matthew was linked to 10 deaths in North Carolina. Eight people lost their lives when their vehicles drove into floodwaters, while another person died after a car hydroplaned and hit a tree.

Last year we wrote about five tips for wet weather driving. If you are not sure how deep floodwater is, you should never drive into it. The deaths in North Carolina demonstrated how easily a vehicle can be swept away or fill up with water.

Always use your lights if your wipers are on and avoid driving in storms when trees are liable to fall on the road or on your vehicle.

If you have been hurt in an accident due to bad driving in wet weather or if you have lost a loved one, you should call Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers at (757) 333-3333.