Sixty-nine-vehicle pile-up in Virginia injures more than 50

Dozens of people have been injured in a pile-up involving more than 60 cars on a major interstate in Virginia.

Photos from the scene showed a tangled mass of metal, with car hoods crumpled, windows smashed and a red truck on top of another vehicle.

The crash happened shortly before 8am on Sunday on westbound Interstate 64 in York county near Williamsburg, Sgt Michelle Anaya of Virginia state police said. No fatalities were reported but it took crews several hours to clear the roadway and reopen all lanes of traffic.

Authorities do not yet know the cause of the crash, but fog and icy road conditions were contributing factors, Anaya said.

Ivan Levy said he and his wife were on their way to Williamsburg, where they work, in separate vehicles at about the time of the crash.

Levy told the Associated Press he started slowing his truck down and turned on his hazard lights when he saw thick fog. “Next thing I know I see cars just start piling up on top of each other,” he said.

Levy was able to stop in time but then got a call from his wife saying she had been in the wreck. “It was just so scary,” said Alena Levy, who was taken to hospital but was not seriously injured.

Ivan Levy said he ran past cars to find his wife and help her out. They made their way back to his truck, and he said he then grabbed a medical kit and started checking on other victims before first responders arrived.

Sixty-nine vehicles were involved in the crash, and 51 people were treated or taken to hospitals, Anaya said on Sunday afternoon.

Among those hurt, two were listed in critical condition and 11 were serious but not life-threatening, said the York county fire chief, Stephen Kopczynski.

An investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing.