Trending Topics

2 EMS providers, wrong-way driver killed in Va. head-on crash involving ambulance

A Lexus traveling the wrong way on I-464 struck a Midwest Medical ambulance, killing both EMS crew members and the other driver

By Avery Sloan
The Virginian-Pilot

CHESAPEAKE, Va. — All three people involved in a head-on crash very early Sunday morning on Interstate 464 have died, according to Virginia State Police.

Around 2:33 a.m., police were called to a crash on I-464, which involved two vehicles, including a 2024 Ford Econoline ambulance. The ambulance — owned by Midwest Medical of North Carolina — was traveling south on the highway when it was hit head-on near the Military Highway exit by a 2022 Lexus sedan that was traveling north in the southbound lanes, state police said in a news release. The crash caused both vehicles to catch fire.

Both the driver and a passenger in the ambulance died after being taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, police said. The passenger, who was in the front seat, was identified as Stephen Michael Anderson, 53, of Trenton, North Carolina. The driver, Skye A. Oraczewski, 22, of Elizabeth City, died late Sunday night.

The driver of the Lexus, Shakena Shamae Taylor-Pannell, 39, of Virginia Beach, died at the scene. Alcohol and speed were being investigated as contributing factors in the crash, police said.

The crash closed the southbound lanes of I-464 for several hours.

No other information was immediately available.

Trending
A private ambulance driven by a relative ran a red light and crashed into another car, leaving an infant dead and the child’s mother hospitalized, police said
Union leaders warn up to 1,500 EMTs and paramedics may leave in 2026 as pay disparities with firefighters worsen staffing shortages and response times
Lillian Bonsignore, the first former EMT to lead the FDNY, reflects on the department’s uneasy 1996 merger with EMS
Programs that send mental health clinicians instead of police to crisis calls are expanding nationwide, but inconsistent funding and limited Medicaid reimbursement threaten their long-term stability

©2025 The Virginian-Pilot.
Visit pilotonline.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Company News
Using a large national EMS dataset, the report delivers a data-driven snapshot of clinical, operational and workforce trends to inform decision-making and system improvement