Accident kills two on I-81
Posted on February 28, 2008
HARRISONBURG – A severe accident on Interstate-81 killed a couple from Buffalo, N.Y., Tuesday night.
According to First Sgt. Bryan Hutcheson of the Virginia State Police, at about 9:30 p.m. a southbound tractor-trailer driven by 33-year-old Uy Tan Hong of Santa Ana, Calif., crossed over the median and collided head-on with a northbound rental van. Both vehicles landed in a ravine near mile marker 244.8. The 2001 Peterbilt tractor-trailer jackknifed before coming to a stop, while the 2007 Chevy Express landed upside down after being separated from its chassis.
The driver of the van, 38-year-old Isaac Santos, was pronounced dead at the scene. The passenger, 48-year-old Linda Solorzano, died en route to the hospital.
Hong was taken to Rockingham Memorial Hospital and his passenger, Ha M. Tuan, also from California, was taken to the University of Virginia Medical Center. Hospital representatives said Wednesday that Hong and Tuan have both been released.
For more than an hour, traffic was stopped in both directions as emergency crews and multiple helicopters arrived at the scene. While Harrisonburg Fire & Rescue and Virginia State Police worked to extricate the occupants of the vehicles and investigate the crash, police from Harrisonburg and JMU responded to Ramblewood Road, adjacent to the highway, for crowd control.
According to Hutcheson, Hong was charged with reckless driving. Hutcheson added that police believe that a distraction caused Hong to take his eyes off the road and drift into the median.
SLIDESHOW: Highway Accident Kills Two
Posted 02.27.08
