4. July 4, 1998
Virgina’s I-81 is known as a treacherous road that has seen more than its share of accidents. But nothing compares to the horrific accident on July 4th. Kevin Chittum, his fiancée, Whitney Rogers, his 13 year old sister, 11 year old niece, and two of his niece’s friends piled into a car to head to the county fair. The couple’s three year old daughter, Rebecca, pleaded to be included, but there was no room. The group pulled away with promises of returning with a candy apple for the crying Rebecca. The parents stopped twice to call and check on the upset toddler. Then as a storm moved into the area, Chittum’s car hit a bump in the road, hydroplaned, sailed across the
median, crashing head on with a tractor-trailer. All passengers in the car, as well as the truck driver, Jerry Douglas Gregory, were killed.
5. February 22, 2000
Despite balmy conditions in Virginia the previous two days, on February 22 the temperature plummeted to just 27 degrees. A snowstorm moved in and created white out conditions on I-95, dropping over an inch of snow in just minutes. The worst pile-up in Virginia history followed involving 117 cars. The terrible accident left 1 person dead and 31 more injured. It also led to a massive cleanup and rescue effort by fire fighters, rescue workers, the Virginia Department of Transportation, and the state police. Amazingly, they were able to rescue the victims, clear the wreckage, and reopen the vital highway in just 12 hours.
6. January 19, 2009
Ice and snow conditions caused at least 20 automobile accidents in one night in Washington County, Maryland. The worst of these was a pile-up involving 7 tractor trailers and 35 cars. The accident claimed 2 people’s lives and injured 35 more, 12 of those were seriously injured. The Red Cross stepped in and took 45 people to one of their shelters until road conditions improved. The incident was blamed on snowy, icy roads.
