A three-vehicle crash on Interstate 95 in Stafford County on Saturday sent seven people to the hospital, two with serious injuries.
The accident occurred at 8:25 p.m. at the 132-mile marker.
According to Virginia State Police, the accident was caused by a 23-year-old driver who was traveling at a high rate of speed who attempted a dangerous lane change, resulting in the collision.
VSP reports that a Mazda Speed was traveling north on I-95 when the driver attempted to go between an unknown vehicle in the middle lane and a Hyundai Palisade in the left lane. The driver’s Mazda collided with the Hyundai. The impact caused the Hyundai to overturn on the guardrail.
The driver of the alleged speeding vehicle, Joseph T. Celich, of Stafford, was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected during the crash. His body was lying in the roadway, when a third vehicle, a Nissan Sentra, struck him, resulting in serious but non-life threatening injuries.
A passenger in Celich’s Mazda, a 24-year-old woman from Fredericksburg, was not wearing a seatbelt and was also ejected during the crash. Like Celich, she suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
After striking Celich’s body in the roadway, the Nissan the collided with the Mazda.
The driver of the Hyundai involved in the initial crash, a 42-year-old man from Alexandria, suffered minor injuries. He was wearing a seatbelt. Passengers in the Hyundai, a 41-year-old woman and three children, suffered minor injuries.
The driver of the Nissan, a 17-year-old man, was not injured.
In total, four adults and three children were transported to Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg for treatment. No updates have been provided on their condition.
Charges are pending. The crash remains under investigation.
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Crystal Graham
