Worker's leg amputated at crash scene

NORFOLK, Va. - Troopers have charged a 32-year-old driver following a serious work zone crash that injured several Virginia Department of Transportation workers early Friday morning.

Sgt. Michelle Anaya with Virginia State Police said the crash occurred around 3 a.m. along Interstate 264 eastbound in the area of Broad Creek Bridge.

A trooper was sitting in a posted and coned off work zone with his emergency lights activated as a 1995 Ford construction truck contracted by VDOT was backing up while workers picked up cones. According to Anaya, a 19-year-old Newport News man and a contracted VDOT worker was standing on a platform behind the truck, collecting cones.

The trooper witnessed a 2006 Dodge Charger driven by 32-year-old Jahmell Dushawn Riley of Virginia Beach abruptly change lanes into the coned off work zone, Anaya said. The Charger then struck the back of the construction truck, pinning the victim underneath the truck.

As a result, the victim's leg was amputated at the scene and he had to be extracted from the wreckage, Anaya said. He was then transported to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital with ongoing serious injuries. Two additional construction workers, including the driver of the construction truck, were also injured.

Riley suffered minor injuries. He has been charged with reckless driving and driving while suspended. Anaya said alcohol was a factor in the crash, however, other charges are pending the results of blood work.

In 2004, Riley was convicted of Driving Under the Influence in Hampton. WAVY.com spoke with Riley's neighbor, who described him as helpful with a beautiful soul.

All eastbound lanes of Interstate 264 were closed as a result of the crash. All traffic was diverted off the interstate at Ballentine Boulevard. Troopers reopened all lanes around 6 a.m.