THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 13, 1994 TAG: 9411140236
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
A Chesapeake woman escaping from a car in which, police allege, her husband had fired a shot at her brother, was killed early Saturday, apparently when a vehicle hit her on a dark section of Military Highway.
The victim, identified as Janice Lewis, 28, of the 1500 block of Seaboard Ave., was pronounced dead at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.
Her husband, Phillip A. Lewis, 35, of the same address, was held without bond Saturday night at the city jail on charges of malicious assault and using a firearm while committing a felony.
Police spokesman Lou Thurston said emergency personnel were called to the 400 block of South Military Highway about 4:15 a.m. on a report of an auto-pedestrian accident.
Police from Norfolk and Virginia Beach responded to the scene, which is next to the city line. When they arrived, they found Lewis on the north land of the roadway.
Stopped nearby, straddling two lanes, was the gray Oldsmobile Cutlass in which she and her husband had been riding. The rear window of the car was shattered by a bullet.
Thurston said investigators learned that Phillip Lewis and his brother-in-law, William Kinley Jr., 22, of the 800 block of Bainbridge Blvd. in Chesapeake, began arguing in the car. The nature of the dispute was not known.
In the care were two other people - Janice Lewis, who was driving, and another passenger whose identity was not released. They, too, were involved in the altercation, police said.
During the argument, police allege, Phillip Lewis pulled out a gun and fired a single shot. No one was hit by the bullet, which shattered the rear window.
Janice Lewis stopped the car, exited and apparently was struck by a passing vehicle as she ran down the road.
Police found a handgun several yards away along a 5-foot high grassy mound that divides Military Highway from a parallel feeder road serving Elizabeth River Shores.
Police said the driver of the vehicle that struck the woman may not be aware of having hit her. Military Highway is under construction, and the 400 block, near Wayside Motor Inn, is at a point where lanes shift suddenly to feed traffic onto a new bridge. The area is lined with large, orange lane markers. There is minimal street lighting and the road is rough.
Thurston said it's possible that a motorist did not see the woman and mistook any sounds or sensations of impact as normal for driving in the construction zone.
Investigators have asked that anyone who may have passed through the area between 4 a.m. and 4:20 a.m. and has information about the incident call Virginia Beach Crime Solvers at 427-0000. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
POLICE SEEK HELP
Investigators have asked that anyone who passed through the area
between 4 a.m. and 4:20 a.m. and has information about the incident
call Virginia Beach Crime Solvers at 427-0000.
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT TRAFFIC FATALITY ARREST
ASSAULT by CNB