Police blame crash on distracted driver

Two people were transported to area hospitals Tuesday morning following a single-vehicle accident that police say occurred because the driver was distracted by her radio.

Deloris A. Jones, 48, of Chesapeake, was flown by Nightingale helicopter to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, and Glenn Conner was taken by ambulance to Sentara Obici Memorial Hospital.

Fire and rescue personnel had worked for about 20 minutes to free the two from the 2002 Ford Mustang in which they had been trapped when it overturned and came to rest on its roof in the median of Holland Road, according to Suffolk spokesperson Debbie George.

Jones, the driver, had been traveling westbound on Holland Road just before 9 a.m., when she became distracted by the radio and ran off the road to the left, George said in a press release. Jones then overcorrected and ran into the ditch in the median. The vehicle rolled twice before coming to rest on its roof.

The roof was severely caved in, and the car sustained about $10,000 in damage, according to George.

Police closed one westbound and both eastbound lanes while emergency crews worked to rescue the vehicle’s occupants and clear the scene. All lanes were reopened by 9:53 a.m., George said in the release.

Jones was treated and released early Tuesday afternoon from Norfolk General, according to Sentara spokesperson Becky Lawson. Conner was treated and released from Obici.

Jones was charged with one count of reckless driving, George said.