Crashes, police pursuits, reckless drivers keep Virginia State Police busy during Labor Day weekend in Hampton Roads

HAMPTON ROADS, Va. (WAVY) — Labor Day Weekend kept Virginia State Police busy.

State Police participated in the Crash Awareness Reduction Effort program (CARE) over the 3-day holiday weekend. The nationwide state-sponsored traffic safety program aims to help keep the roadways safe.

During this time, Division V/Chesapeake troopers, which encompasses the 7 major cities and the 14 surrounding counties, netted 2,087 traffic stops, investigated 131 traffic crashes, and assisted 190 disabled motorists.

Throughout the weekend, troopers issued 2,630 total summons, 67 of which were for failing to wear a seatbelt, 38 summons for failing to secure a child in a proper restraint, arrested 19 people for driving under the influence, and issued 335 warnings.

One of the crashes state police responded to was a two-vehicle crash that sent 5 people to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Later that day in Sussex, state police responded to a 2-vehicle crash involving a tractor-trailer.

According to police, the call for the crash came in just after 7 p.m. on the southbound lanes of I-95. During the crash, the driver of a 2018 Toyota Camry made an unsafe lane change and struck a 2012 Freightliner tractor-trailer. The Camry overturned in front of the tractor-trailer and both vehicles ran off the roadway.

The passenger of the Camry sustained life-threatening injuries and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. The driver of the tractor-trailer was uninjured. The driver of the Camry did not sustain injuries and was summoned for an unsafe lane change.

The next day on Saturday, September 4, a state trooper was on patrol on the right shoulder on the eastbound lanes of I-264, with his emergency lights on, when his vehicle was sideswiped and struck by another vehicle around 3:50 p.m.

The driver of the other vehicle, later identified as 44-year-old Chesapeake resident Rusty Leigh Campson, was charged with reckless driving, having a counterfeit inspection sticker, and operating an unregistered vehicle.

Both the trooper and Campson were uninjured during the incident.

On Sunday, a trooper was working a separate crash at the Downtown Tunnel around 11:40 a.m. when a motorcycle passed him at a very high rate of speed. The trooper states the motorcycle had no registration, was going over 110 MPH and refused to pull over.

Following a short police pursuit, the motorcyclist, identified as 27-year-old Anthony William Nixon, eventually stopped at Gum Road in Chesapeake.

Nixon was arrested and charged with felony eluding, reckless driving, and no registration. 

Several hours later, troopers responded to a single-vehicle crash on the Eastern Shore. The crash occurred just after 5:30 p.m. in the 22500 block of Guards Shore Road in Accomack County.

During the crash, a 2003 Jeep Liberty was traveling at a high rate of speed when the driver lost control, ran off the roadway, flipped and overturned over a trench.

Both the driver and passenger were uninjured during the crash. The driver, identified as 19-year-old Diego Chavez, was charged with reckless driving and not having a license.

On Labor Day in Chesapeake, troopers noticed a vehicle driving recklessly on I-464 just after 2 a.m.

When state police attempted to make a traffic stop, the driver refused to pull over initiating a police puruit.

The pursuit ended when the vehicle exited onto I-564 and attempted to take the Terminal Boulevard exit ramp at a high rate of speed.

State Police say that’s when the vehicle lost control, ran off the roadway and into a guardrail.

The driver, identified as 22-year-old Norfolk resident Kyree Omari Dacanay did not sustain injuries. Dacanay was arrested and charged with reckless driving, felony eluding, failure to maintain proper control of the vehicle, driving under the influence, and having an open container.