Ice Causes Multiple Vehicle Accidents in Norfolk, Chesapeake and Portsmouth

Numerous crashes were reported on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning in Hampton Roads as freezing temperatures turned Tidewater’s Interstates and secondary roads into ice rinks.

The crashes led to extensive road closures, delays and auto accident injuries. Bridges and exposed roadways were particularly badly affected. WAVY.com listed some of the accident scenes.

Norfolk:

A number of crashes were reported on Interstate 264 near Brambleton Avenue Wednesday morning.

Heavy ice caused a crash involving multiple vehicles at about 7 p.m. Tuesday on the Hampton Boulevard Bridge police said. As many as 15 vehicles were involved in multiple crashes in both the northbound and southbound lanes of the bridge that was closed from 7:30 p.m. to 10:20 p.m. One driver was injured.

Chesapeake:

Ice caused multiple accidents in Chesapeake. Serious congestion was seen on Interstate 664 near the Bowers Hill area Wednesday morning around 5 a.m. One vehicle crashed in a wooded area and another slid out in the median.

Another multi-vehicle crash occurred on Battlefield Boulevard at the Interstate 64 overpass around 7 p.m. The overpass was shut down until road crews could treat it. The bridge at Battlefield Boulevard and Gallbush Road also shut down due to a crash.

Another crash was reported at the Campostella Road and Atlantic Avenue off-ramp, involving a single vehicle. While the driver was waiting inside her vehicle for police to arrive, another car struck her and she sustained a minor injury. Police said both incidents were related to icy conditions.

A crash on the Jordan Bridge linking South Norfolk and Portsmouth on Wednesday morning around 7 a.m. closed the westbound lanes.

Newport News:

The James River Bridge was closed for several hours as icy conditions caused eight separate crashes.

Portsmouth:

A multi-vehicle crash was reported near the APM Terminals involving multiple vehicles eastbound Wednesday morning.

Two other crashes were reported on the West Norfolk Bridge on Route 164 Tuesday night. Misty Holley with Portsmouth Police reported a hit-and-run accident in the eastbound lanes around 6:42 p.m.

“While officers were responding to that crash, a single-vehicle crash occurred in the eastbound lanes. While officers were taking the report for that second crash, a third happened in the westbound lanes at 7:24 p.m.” reported WAVY.com

Police said the West Norfolk Bridge was shut down completely until about 8:40 p.m. At 9 p.m., Portsmouth Police closed the icy Hodges Ferry Bridge, in the 6500 block of Portsmouth Boulevard, due to vehicle crashes in both directions.

Suffolk:

The on-ramp close to the Western Freeway off Route 17 was closed down.

Bridges typically freeze first because air flows above and below them, causing rapid heat loss. Materials such as steel and concrete conduct cold temperatures.

Always drive with care on bridges when temperatures are above freezing. These are the most likely places you will experience black ice. If you have been injured in an accident caused by a driver who has failed to cope with the icy conditions, you may have grounds to file a claim against his or her insurance company. Call our Norfolk auto accident injury lawyers at 757.455.0077.