WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (AP) - Virginia State Police say two people are dead after a crash involving a vehicle that sped away from an attempted traffic stop by a Williamsburg police officer.
Authorities say 40-year-old Leon Cowles Jr. of Williamsburg was speeding on Monticello Avenue after the traffic stop when the car he was driving broadsided a van at an intersection at the Williamsburg and James City County line shortly before 9 p.m. Friday.
The impact of that crash caused one of the vehicles to strike a third vehicle.
Police say Cowles and the van driver, 58-year-old Hamed Kamel Juma of Williamsburg, died at the scene.
Two children riding in Cowles’ vehicle, and Juma’s wife and two children, sustained serious injuries.
The driver of the third car, a 62-year-old Williamsburg man, also was seriously injured.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.