71-year-old wrong-way driver charged with DUI after hitting trooper on I-295

PRINCE GEORGE COUNTY, Va. — A 71-year-old man was arrested after allegedly driving the wrong way on Interstate 295 and crashing head-on into a Virginia State Police vehicle, injuring a trooper.

Edward Junious Whitby, of Newport News, was headed south on I-295 north in Prince George County when troopers received multiple calls reporting his vehicle.

A trooper headed north on I-295, about two miles north of the Route 460 exit, saw Whitby's car coming straight at him at a high rate of speed. He had his lights and sirens on and tried to slow down, but the two vehicles collided head-on around 4 a.m., according to officials with Virginia State Police.

The trooper was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Whitby was evaluated at the scene and arrested. He faces charges of driving under the influence and driving the wrong way on a highway.

The crash remains under investigation.

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