A Commercial Vehicle Crash on I-64? Here Is What to Do Next

If you were hurt in a commercial vehicle crash on I-64 near Richmond, your first steps are medical care, safety, a police report and careful notes. These steps protect your health and create records that may matter later. This guide walks through each step in plain language, with Virginia rules where they apply.

Interstate 64 runs through Henrico County and Goochland County. Trucks are large and heavy, so a crash with one can cause serious injuries, some of them not obvious at first.

Get Medical Care and Move to Safety

Get medical care as soon as you can, even if you feel only sore or shaken. A prompt check helps your health and starts a record of what happened.

People often feel shaken but fine right after a crash. That feeling can change later, so a medical check still matters when you feel okay. Tell the provider exactly where it hurts and how the crash happened, in plain words. Mistakes people make include waiting for pain to get worse before going in, and skipping follow-up visits because they feel better. Both can leave gaps in the record that are hard to fill later.

Keep copies of every visit summary, bill, prescription and referral. Write down any visit you skip and the reason.

If you can move safely, get out of traffic and away from the lanes of I-64. Turn on your hazard lights. Don’t stand in the lanes to check on the truck. If you cannot move, stay buckled in and wait for help. If anyone is badly hurt, ask for emergency help right away.

Report the Crash to Police Right Away

Virginia requires a driver involved in a crash with injury or death to stop and report it to police immediately (Va. Code §§ 46.2-371, 46.2-894). The duty appears in Va. Code § 46.2-894 and Va. Code § 46.2-371.

If injuries kept the driver from reporting at the scene, Va. Code § 46.2-894 says to report as soon as reasonably possible, while Va. Code § 46.2-371 requires the driver to immediately give notice of the accident to a law-enforcement officer.

Reporting is not the same as filing a lawsuit. The two-year period discussed below is the deadline to file a lawsuit, not the deadline to report a crash (Va. Code § 8.01-243).

Ask the officer for the report number at the scene. Keep the officer’s name, badge number and agency in one place, along with the date and time of the crash. A police report is a record you can request later, and it may list the truck company and other identifying details.

Document the Scene, the Truck and the Witnesses

Write down the facts while you still remember them, and take photos if you can do so safely.

Note the time, the exact location, the nearest mile marker or exit number, and which lanes were blocked. Also record the weather, road conditions and anything that looked unusual, such as debris.

Photograph the vehicles, the damage, the road and any skid marks. Note the truck company’s name, the trailer or unit number, the license plate and any DOT number visible on the cab or trailer.

Get names and contact details from witnesses. Witnesses may leave before police arrive, so ask for their details early. Write down what the driver says, but label it as what you heard, not as proof of fault.

Federal rules also limit how long property-carrying commercial drivers may drive. Keep a written timeline of symptoms, missed work and daily limits too.

I-64 Near Richmond: Lanes, Mile Markers and Traffic Reports

Traffic reports on I-64 near Richmond often describe a crash by its mile marker, exit number and the lanes that are closed.

Reports may say all lanes are closed, or that lanes are closed in one direction, such as I-64 East or I-64 West. In Henrico County and Goochland County, the mile marker is often the clearest way to name the spot.

Write down the direction of travel, the marker and the time, and compare them with what you saw. A news report is not a substitute for your own notes, because the report may not describe the scene in full. If you are unsure which marker applies, note the nearest exit sign you can recall and say you were unsure.

Tractor-trailer crashes can lead to longer closures and spills. Those conditions can make scene details harder to see later, so early notes carry more weight. Write them down the same day.

More Than One Party May Be Involved

A commercial vehicle crash can involve more than one person or company, so the driver may not be the only party to consider.

Other possible parties include the trucking company, the vehicle owner, or another driver.

Virginia follows contributory negligence: if you are found even partly at fault, you may be barred from recovering, with limited exceptions. Talk to a lawyer about your facts.

Don’t assume who was at fault based on what another driver said at the scene. The facts of each crash decide who may be responsible. Ask who owned the trailer or leased the truck, and write down what you learn.

Deadlines to Know: Injury Claims and Wrongful Death

Virginia generally allows two years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit (Va. Code § 8.01-243(A)); the clock runs from the date of injury, not the date of discovery, with narrow exceptions. Under Va. Code § 8.01-243, unless otherwise provided in that section or by other statute, every action for personal injuries, whatever the theory of recovery, must be brought within two years after the cause of action accrues.

Some claims carry notice requirements that run out sooner. For negligence claims against a county, city or town, Va. Code § 15.2-209 requires a written statement of the claim within six months, though the claim is not barred if the attorney, chief executive or mayor, or any insurer or entity providing coverage or indemnification of the claim, had actual knowledge of it within that period. That may matter if a government vehicle was involved.

The wrongful death rule is different. A Virginia wrongful death action is filed by the decedent’s personal representative within two years of the death (Va. Code §§ 8.01-50(C), 8.01-244(B)), on behalf of the family members the statute protects. The statutes are at Va. Code § 8.01-50 and Va. Code § 8.01-244.

Family members don’t file the case. They share in any recovery, and who shares is set by Va. Code § 8.01-53: first the surviving spouse, children of the deceased, and children of any deceased child of the deceased; parents who regularly received support or services for necessaries from the decedent within 12 months before death may share only where one of those survivors exists, and where the decedent left a spouse and parents but no child or grandchild, the award goes to the spouse and parents, but a parent whose parental rights were terminated by a court or through a permanent entrustment agreement with a child welfare agency cannot be a beneficiary. If there is no surviving spouse, no child of the deceased, and no child of a deceased child of the deceased, the statute directs the award to the decedent’s parents, brothers and sisters, and to any other relative who is primarily dependent on the decedent for support or services and is also a member of the same household; and when the award goes to a surviving spouse, children or children of a deceased child, or a surviving spouse and parents, that same dependent household relative may also share (Va. Code § 8.01-53(A)).

Filing deadlines are easy to misjudge, so track the dates from the day of the crash.

How Correll Law Firm Serves Richmond and Henrico County

Correll Law Firm has offices in Winchester and Harrisonburg and represents people in Richmond and Henrico County. The firm handles car accidents, truck accidents, commercial vehicle accidents, catastrophic injuries, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury and wrongful death.

The firm’s Richmond and Henrico County pages serve readers in those areas, and the firm’s offices remain in Winchester and Harrisonburg. For more background, read the firm’s commercial vehicle accidents guide for Virginia, its truck accidents page and its Henrico County page.

Frequently Asked Questions