THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 3, 1996 TAG: 9603030145
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: HAMPTON LENGTH: Short : 40 lines
A man whose car sideswiped a bus carrying children home from an evening at the circus Friday was charged with drunken driving, state police said.
There were 36 children, ages 1-9, aboard the Portsmouth Parks and Recreation Department bus when it was hit at 10:33 p.m. on southbound Interstate 664. The accident happened on the southside bridge of the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel.
State police said all the children, as well as four adults and the driver of the bus, were taken to Maryview Medical Center in Portsmouth for checkups and treatment of bruises. None was seriously hurt.
The car, driven by Andre W. Satterfield, 20, of Chesapeake, hit the bus and then became lodged under it as the bus slid against a concrete wall, state police said.
Tammy Van Dame, a state police spokeswoman, said the car was traveling at high speed when it hit the bus.
Satterfield received a bump to his head, but refused medical care. He was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and was being held in the city jail in lieu of bond.
There were two passengers in the car. One, a 21-year-old Syracuse, N.Y., man, was taken to Riverside Regional Medical Center for treatment of multiple cuts. He was not wearing a seat belt, Van Dame said. A 19-year-old Washington man who was in the rear seat was not hurt.
The accident closed the southbound span of the bridge-tunnel for about an hour.
Another city bus was sent to the scene to pick up the children and take them to the hospital.
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT TRAFFIC INJURIES DRUNKEN DRIVING
ARREST by CNB