Published: April 29, 2008 11:14 pm      

3-vehicle wreck sends five people to hospital

After dropping his son off at Beckley Elementary School Tuesday, Walter Adkins was driving along North Eisenhower Drive near Beckley Produce when he saw a Chevrolet truck slam into the back of a Jeep.

“The Jeep was hit hard,” he said.

Adkins watched as the Jeep was pushed into the northbound lane and was hit head-on by another vehicle.

“It was a horrible accident,” he said.

According to Beckley police, officers were dispatched around 7:20 a.m. to the three-vehicle accident scene near the 500 block of Eisenhower Drive.

The Jeep was traveling south on Eisenhower (U.S. 19) when the driver of the pickup lost control, entered the center lane and struck the Jeep, according Lt. J.C. McPeake.

“We are not sure at this point if the driver of the Chevrolet pickup truck fell asleep or was on some type of medication,” McPeake said.

McPeake said the Jeep was pushed into the northbound lane and collided with a third vehicle head-on. After the head-on collision, the Jeep left the roadway, crashed through a fence and came to rest on the property at 503 Eisenhower.

Adkins said he saw the Jeep cross Wilkes Road, smash through a fence and travel through the yard of a home, accelerating at a high speed.

“It appeared the driver was knocked out and the vehicle was still going out of control,” he said.

The Jeep came to rest after hitting a guardrail, but its wheels were still turning.

“It appeared that the gas pedal was stuck wide open,” he said. “The tires were turning and smoking, and gravel was being thrown all over the place.”

The guardrail stopped the vehicle from going into Whitestick Creek, Adkins said.

Adkins, 42, said he could hear two little girls screaming and crying inside the Jeep, so he went through a window to see if he could help.

“The smallest girl had some facial injuries and the other girl appeared to have leg and facial injuries,” he said. “I saw the driver down in the floor board of the vehicle and she appeared unconscious. I was afraid to move them until the emergency responders got to the scene, so I stayed with them and tried to calm down the little girls.”

Adkins said the police, fire department and emergency services responded quickly to the accident.

“They were all there pretty quickly,” he said.

Police said the three occupants of the Jeep and the two occupants of the other vehicle that was struck head-on were transported to local hospitals by emergency services.

“The conditions of the drivers and passengers of the second and third vehicles are unknown at this time,” McPeake said.

McPeake said the accident remains under investigation and names of those involved have yet to be released.

McPeake said the driver of the Chevrolet pickup truck was checked and released by emergency workers on scene and was cited for “failure to maintain control of the vehicle.”

McPeake said Cpl. J.R. Brown and Capt. E.S. Rogers are the investigating officers.

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