Vinton man goes off Interstate 81, lands on ant hill 

A Vinton man has been charged with reckless driving after he lost control of his car, rolled into a ditch and came to rest upside down in an anthill.

Lewis Wyrick, 59, was conscious when he was taken to an unidentified hospital with lacerations, head and back injuries, and numerous ant bites, Virginia State Police Senior Trooper Gary Chafin said.

The incident happened on Interstate 81 north near mile marker 141 at 5:12 p.m. on Sunday. Traffic on that road was already backed up from an earlier wreck that sent one person to the hospital a couple of hours earlier.

Wyrick was driving quickly when he approached the backup, Chafin said. When he realized he was unable to stop in time, he swerved from the right to left lane and lost control of his 1997 Toyota Camry, the state trooper said.

The car went off the road, up an embankment, rolled upside down, then slid back down the embankment into a ditch, Chafin said. The car came to rest about 20 feet from the road, upside down, covered in ants.

The crash forced more lane closures on I-81, which was backed up for 11 miles. The car had been cleared from the road and traffic was back to normal by 8 p.m.

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