Police chief: No charges likely in Va parade crash
May 21, 2013, 4:00 PM
DAMASCUS, Va. (AP) – Authorities say an elderly driver is not likely to face charges for plowing into dozens of hikers marching in a Virginia mountain town’s parade.
Damascus Police Chief Bill Nunley says the driver in the Saturday incident that injured about 50 people had a medical issue that caused him to lose control of his car.
Nunley says that while the investigation is ongoing, authorities haven’t found any criminal intent.
He identified the driver as 87-year-old Deward Blevins of Shady Valley, Tenn., who remains hospitalized in stable condition.
Blevins’ 1997 Cadillac was one of the last vehicles in the Hikers Parade at the Trail Days festival, an annual celebration of the Appalachian Trail in Damascus, near the Tennessee state line.
Most of those injured were treated and released Saturday. Two were kept at hospitals overnight.
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