Virginia state trooper injured in head-on crash with wrong-way driver

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - A Virginia state trooper was injured in a crash while trying to stop a wrong-way driver on I-64 near Williamsburg, authorities say.

The collision happened around 4 a.m. on April 20. Police began searching for a driver going down the highway in the wrong direction after receiving multiple reports from other drivers.

State Trooper M. LeSage stopped in the eastbound lanes attempting to stop the driver when he was struck head-on at a high rate of speed by the driver, later identified as 26-year-old Elijah Jones.

Jones was speeding in his 2021 Kia when he hit the trooper and was found to be under the influence at the time of the crash.

LeSage suffered serious, non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to Riverside Hospital in Williamsburg for treatment.

Jones was uninjured and was placed under arrest. He was charged with driving under the influence, maiming and having an open container. He was taken to the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail.