Deeds Rear-Ends Car, Slightly Injuring Two

State Sen. R. Creigh Deeds, a Democratic candidate for governor, was involved in a minor traffic accident in Louisa County on Saturday evening that sent two people in a car he rear-ended to the hospital.

According to the Louisa sheriff's office, Deeds collided with the car as it was slowing to make a left turn. Deeds was uninjured. The two people in the other car were taken to a Charlottesville area hospital as a precaution and released that evening. He was issued a $30 ticket for following the vehicle too closely.

Maj. Donnie Lowe of the sheriff's office said that Deeds was not speeding or talking on his cellphone and that alcohol was not involved. Lowe said that work had recently been done on the brakes of Deeds's high-mileage sport-utility vehicle and that he reported they felt "squishy" as he attempted to slow.

"It appears to be more of a mechanical error than anything else," Lowe said.

Neither the campaign nor the sheriff's office identified the occupants of the car.

Deeds's campaign said he was alone, driving from a campaign event in Fredericksburg to his home in rural Bath County to spend Mother's Day with his family.

The campaign issued a statement yesterday morning about the incident. Brooke Borkenhagen, a spokeswoman for the campaign, said the delay occurred because Deeds wanted to speak with the people from the other vehicle before releasing information, a conversation that took place Sunday. The Louisa residents were doing well, she said.

A statement was prepared Monday, she said, but was not immediately released because the campaign got "sidetracked with other things."

"We're not trying to hide anything," she said. "The guy got into a minor crash when he was headed home to see his family. There was a ticket issued and minor injuries. That's all that this is."

Deeds will face Terry McAuliffe and Brian Moran in the Democratic primary June 9. He has been campaigning across the state. This is Deeds's second minor car accident in a year. In August, after a Roanoke campaign event, the state senator hit a bear that was crossing a rural road near his home.