A jury ordered a Roanoke chiropractor to pay $250,000 to a former patient who said he suffered a herniated disc during treatment.

The former patient, Jonathan Greene, 45, of Roanoke, had a history of back problems. But he sued Gregory Capps, of Capps Chiropractic Clinic, as a result of a 2001 treatment for low back pain that caused a major injury, said Greene's lawyer, Marshall Mundy.

A Roanoke Circuit Court jury ruled Thursday in Greene's favor.

The day of the incident, Greene collapsed when he stood up after two spinal-manipulation procedures and asked that an ambulance be called. He ended up driving himself to a hospital and, a few weeks later, had surgery for a herniated disc, Mundy said.

Capps' lawyer, Tom Farrell, argued that Greene had already injured his back before he saw Capps and that Capps did not cause the herniated disk.

According to Mundy, Greene, a former electrical equipment salesman, is permanently disabled and walks with a cane. Mundy had asked for $1 million.

Judge William Broadhurst did not immediately rule on Capps' request to toss out the verdict.

- Jeff Sturgeon

Norfolk Southern train hits van in Henry County

No one was injured Thursday night when a Norfolk Southern train carrying coal struck a 15-passenger van that was sitting on tracks in Henry County.

The wreck occurred about 11:50 p.m. near Ridgeway, Norfolk Southern spokesman Robin Chapman said. The train hit a van that had gotten stuck on the tracks, Chapman said. The driver, Roger Dale Chandler of Lexington, N.C., was out of the van and standing nearby when the wreck occurred, said Virginia State Police Trooper K.D. Mabe.

The wreck was not at a railroad crossing, Chapman said. The van became disabled on the tracks after Chandler ran off Virginia 689, which runs parallel, and onto the tracks. Chapman said he was unsure how long the van had been on the tracks.

Chandler, 47, was charged with reckless driving, Mabe said.

The train was headed from Roanoke to the Belews Creek power station in North Carolina, Chapman said. A conductor and engineer were on board at the time of the wreck.

The van is registered to Cimarron Coach of Virginia, a Falls Mills-based company that provides transportation services, said Sgt. Bob Carpentieri, state police spokesman. Chandler did not have any passengers with him at the time of the wreck, Mabe said. Chandler was headed to the power station late Friday night to pick up the conductor and engineer in the train that hit his van, Mabe said.

-Hattie Brown and Lindsey Nair

Roanoke agency receives $350,000 federal grant

The Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority has been awarded a $350,000 federal grant to promote self-sufficiency among clients of the agency.

The housing authority will use the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant for programs in the Jamestown public housing development in Southeast Roanoke, said John Baker, executive director of the housing authority. It will go to needs assessment, education, counseling, training and job placement as part of the agency's focus on helping clients become employed and self-sufficient.

Baker said several local agencies have agreed to provide some in-kind services for the effort.

The HUD grant is part of more than $20 million in grants for self-sufficiency programs distributed to 78 agencies nationwide. Agencies in Danville and Norfolk also received grants.

- Matt Chittum