AMMA, W.Va. —West Virginia state police arrested a Pennsylvania man after he wrecked on Interstate-79 in Roane County early Friday morning, revealing guns and improvised explosive devices among the wreckage.
Seth Grim, 20, was taken into custody and was being held in the South Central Regional Jail. He faces charges of possession with intent to distribute marijuana after troopers found an pot in the vehicle.
What started as a routine response to a motor vehicle accident blossomed into a full-blown security scare for first responders.
Roane County 911 received a call of the wreck near the Amma exit about 3:30 a.m. Firemen arrived on the scene and found the single SUV had rolled over and was in the median. The driver suffered a head injury and was transported to Charleston Area Medical Center by ambulance.
Fire fighters also discovered about 40 live chickens that had been inside the vehicle were running wild around the accident scene.
However, the story turned from amusing to frightening when suspicious items were found and the state police bomb technicians were called to the scene. The entire interstate was shut down for more than a half-hour between the Wallback and Ama exits. It finally reopened around 8:30 a.m.
Police released this statement.
“The West Virginia State Police and the Roane County Sheriff’s Department are investigating a single vehicle traffic crash on I-79, near the 30,5 mm. Currently, only one lane in each direction is open, as some possible improvised devices were discovered in the vehicle.”
Troopers now say the IEDs were actually altered fireworks. They were removed from the scene and rendered harmless. Troopers also confiscated guns from the scene, but did not indicate what caliber, type, or how many were in the vehicle.
Additional charges are expected to be filed in the case against Grim