DANVILLE, Va. (AP) — Danville police have charged the driver of a vehicle that hit an apartment building and caused an explosion that injured six people.
Thirty-six-year-old James T. Barksdale of Danville City is charged with driving while intoxicated and operating a motor vehicle with a revoked license.
Police say in a news release that a vehicle driven by Barksdale ran off the road early Saturday and hit the 18-unit building at Royal Terrace Apartments. The crash severed natural gas lines and the resulting leak filed the building with gas.
The explosion occurred as firefighters were evacuating the building and searching for residents. Police say the explosion buckled walls and floors and caused a fire. The building sustained about $500,000 in damage.
Six residents suffered non-life threatening injuries.
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