69 cars crash on icy Virginia bridge: 51 injured, some critically as I-64 is shut down

John Bacon | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Virginia crash: Over 60 cars involved in interstate pile-up Over two dozen people were transported to local hospitals. Virginia State Police tweeted that injuries ranged from minor to life-threatening.

Nearly 70 vehicles were involved in chain-reaction crashes on an icy, foggy Virginia bridge Sunday, injuring 51 people and shutting down I-64 in both directions on a busy holiday travel day.

Most injuries were minor and none were life-threatening at the Queen's Creek bridge, about 50 miles east of Richmond just outside historic Williamsburg, state police said.

The chain-reaction crashes began at about 7:51 a.m., police said. The state transportation department said all eastbound lanes on I-64 reopened about three hours later. Westbound lanes remained closed until mid-afternoon.

The interstate is a major access road for Virginia Beach, a sprawling beach and military city of more than 440,000 people.

Peter Glagola, spokesman for Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News, said physicians there were treating 24 patients.

"One patient has serious injuries, five are being treated for moderate injuries, and 18 for minor injuries," Glagola said. "More details to come."

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Ivan Levy said he and his wife were driving separately to Williamsburg when thick fog forced him to slow his truck and turn on his hazard lights.

“Next thing I know I see cars just start piling up on top of each other,” he said.

Levy was able to stop in time but got a call from his wife saying she had been in the wreck.

“It was just so scary,” said Alena Levy, who was evaluated at a hospital but was not seriously injured.

Photos from the scene revealed a sea of cars with crumpled hoods and trunks. Some vehicles were squeezed between other cars, partially lifted into the air as first responders walked across them looking to extricate drivers and passengers.

The incident came on one of the busiest travel days of the year. AAA estimated more Americans than ever – 115.6 million – will travel this holiday season, from Dec. 21 through Jan. 1. More than 104 million of those travelers will drive to their destinations, AAA said.

Contributing: The Associated Press