Ashburn, VA

69° F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Ashburn

Virginia

69°
No results found.
Try searching for a city, zip code or point of interest.
settings
Ashburn, VA Weather
Today WinterCast Local {stormName} Tracker Hourly Daily Radar MinuteCast Monthly Air Quality Health & Activities

Around the Globe

Hurricane Tracker

Severe Weather

Radar & Maps

News

News & Features

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

Video

Podcasts

Winter Center

News & Features AccuWeather Prime Astronomy Business Climate Health Recreation Sports Travel

News / Weather News

Dozens injured as over 60 cars left mangled in pileup on I-64 in Virginia

By Chaffin Mitchell, AccuWeather staff writer & Mark Puleo, AccuWeather staff writer

Published Dec. 22, 2019 6:08 PM EDT

Copied
Watch now

Nearly 70 vehicles have been involved in an accident on I-64 near Williamsburg, Virginia. Both sides of the interstate were closed for a lengthy period of time.

Amid foggy and icy conditions on Sunday morning, a devastating pileup involving over 60 vehicles in Virginia left dozens of people injured.

The accident occurred on Interstate 64 near Norfolk just before 8 a.m., local time, when patchy fog and black ice were reportedly in the Queens Creek Overpass area. Virginia State Police confirmed 51 people were taken to regional hospitals, including 11 people who sustained serious injuries.  

Emergency personnel on the scene of a large pileup on I-64. (Image via York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office)

According to the police, 69 total vehicles were involved in the wreckage. Photos depicted firefighters and other emergency personnel standing on the hoods of mangled vehicles looking for people to rescue. Initial reports on Twitter stated that injuries ranged from minor to life-threatening, but the 5 p.m. update from the state police confirmed that no fatalities or life-threatening injuries were reported.

"My thoughts are with all involved in the multi-vehicle accident near Williamsburg this morning," Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam tweeted on Sunday. "Grateful for the emergency crews, first responders, hospital staff, @VSPPIO, and @VaDOT personnel who are working around the clock to keep people safe this holiday season."

Bray Hollowell, a survivor of the pileup, told WTVR.com that the accidents were an "apocalyptic moment." When the weather turned quickly, the foggy conditions dashed any hopes of visibility.

“It really just got really foggy really quick,” he said. “I just was driving on the bridge and then out of nowhere I see an accident and I just brake. And I couldn't really do much to avoid, I just ran into people.”

Holloway said he considers himself lucky and fortunate to walk away uninjured.

I-64 accident this morning pic.twitter.com/xD1DjLMY1k

— beach bummer (@Brayhollowell42) December 22, 2019

In the immediate aftermath of the accidents, the Virginia Department of Transportation closed both the westbound lanes, where the accidents had occurred, and the eastbound lanes, due to the rubber necking of cars driving by. At 3:35 p.m., local time, the department announced on Twitter that both eastbound and westbound lanes were reopened.

"In situations such as this, the road may appear wet, rather than icy, hence the term black ice," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.

According to Sosnowski, temperatures ranged from the upper 20s to the lower 30s in southeastern Virginia before and shortly after daybreak with areas of fog.

Firefighters on the scene of a pileup on I-64 near Williamsburg. (Image via Virginia State Police)

"The sudden low visibility in parts of the region created a dangerous visibility situation on top of the black ice condition," Sosnowski said. 

"This just demonstrates that even during a mild and storm-free weather pattern, that a few fog patches this time of the year can be dangerous with freezing temperatures," Sosnowski said.

Related:

Rain, snow to make for tricky travel leading up to Christmas in the Southwest
A white Christmas may be nothing more than a dream for many this week
Fall-like temperatures to eat away at the snowpack across central US in the final days before Christmas

Download the free AccuWeather app to check the forecast in your area. Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.

Report a Typo
Comments that don't add to the conversation may be automatically or manually removed by Facebook or AccuWeather. Profanity, personal attacks, and spam will not be tolerated.
Comments
Hide Comments

Weather News

Weather Forecasts

Looming heat wave may lead to wildfire surge in Northwest

Aug. 13, 2022
Weather News

Infant dies after being left in hot car in Washington, DC

Aug. 12, 2022
Severe Weather

Risk for flooding downpours across Central states early next week

Aug. 13, 2022
Climate

Arctic warming nearly 4 times as fast as entire globe, study says

Aug. 11, 2022
Astronomy

Saturn opposition: Why August is perfect for spotting the ringed plane...

Aug. 12, 2022
Weather News

Bystanders spring into action seconds before sinkhole swallows car

Aug. 12, 2022
Weather News

Army identifies 2 Fort Benning soldiers killed by fallen tree in Ga.

Aug. 11, 2022
Recreation

Level up your barbecue game this summer with these gas grills

Jul. 15, 2022
Recreation

Why a zero-gravity chair is what you should add to your yard this year

Jul. 19, 2022
Show More Show Less Chevron down

Topics

News & Features

AccuWeather Prime

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

Top Stories

Severe Weather

Heavy rain hammers Las Vegas, turning famed strip into a river

2 hours ago

Hurricane

Budding Gulf storm to eye South Texas with heavy rain, flooding

3 hours ago

Travel

Watch out! Dangerously close jet approaches plane spotters

11 minutes ago

Health

Study: Half of known infectious diseases aggravated by climate hazards

15 hours ago

Astronomy

The summer of the supermoon draws to a close in sensational fashion

22 hours ago

More Stories

Featured Topic

Local Arthritis Forecast

Featured Stories

Explore this hurricane-beaten ghost town where time has all but stoppe... Webb space telescope glimpses most distant star known to exist The tools you need to maintain your garden through the rest of summer
AccuWeather Weather News Dozens injured as over 60 cars left mangled in pileup on I-64 in Virginia
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs Podcast RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Shop AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Weather Blogs Winter Weather
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs Podcast RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Shop AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Weather Blogs Winter Weather
© 2021 AccuWeather, Inc. "AccuWeather" and sun design are registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | TAG Disclosure | Do Not Sell My Data checkmark Confirmed Not Selling Your Data

We have updated our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

I Understand

Get AccuWeather alerts as they happen with our browser notifications.

Notifications Enabled

Thanks! We’ll keep you informed.

FEEDBACK