Charlottesville Breaking News

A week after two teenagers survived a harrowing runaway car incident on I-81, questions about what caused the car to accelerate to speeds up to 110mph linger, but according to one local mechanic, a simple maneuver might have spared the teens the terror of leaping from a moving vehicle: turning the car off.

"That's the first thing I'd do is flip the key off," says Joe Baber, owner and head mechanic at Peacock Auto Service at the corner on Meade Avenue. Baber, who did not examine the 1998 Mazda Protege involved in the incident but is familiar with that make, model and year, says its mechanical throttle cable could have been at least part of the acceleration issue. "I've seen it get sticky," he says of other similar vehicles he's worked on. "When it slides back, it could get stuck."

Irvine-California-based Mazda spokesperson Jeremy Barnes says he's unaware of any similar issues with any model Mazdas, and notes that maintenance is important for all vehicles, and especially older models. Barnes also says that the brakes of a vehicle should always override the gas.

"In this case, I have no way of knowing," Barnes says. "The most important thing is that the occupants are unhurt."

Virginia State Police spokesperson Corinne Geller says the investigation into the cause of the acceleration is ongoing, but there's little question that the incident could have had a tragic outcome, and both the driver involved and the passenger say they feared death as they h...

After working a long shift as a chef at the Main Street Arena on Friday, March 15, Kenny Jenkins headed over to the Elks Lodge on Second Street NW for a drink and a dance with his fiancée. A longtime Charlottesville resident, Jenkins has been going to the Elks Lodge, a historic African-American fraternal organization with deep roots in the community, for over 30 years.

"It's a nice place to go, to relax, to see old friends," says Jenkins, 50. "Most people respect the Elks because it has a long history, or their parents went there. Now," he says, "it's really the only place for black folks to go."

Jenkins says the club scene on Friday nights has always been for older, working class African-Americans, but that younger people have started to go there because there are so few other places for them in Charlottesville. On that particular Friday, says Jenkins, an altercation broke out inside the club and a chair was thrown. Out on the street, as Jenkins and other people were leaving the club, the violence suddenly escalated.

Sitting in a cab he had just hailed, Jenkins heard a gunshot and then saw a Charlottesville police officer draw his gun, shout "drop your weapon!" and fire twice.

In the aftermath of the shooting, which left two men wounded and is still officially under investigation, the Elks Lodge has come under fire as a place with a history of chaos and violence after their Friday night dance parties. Nearby business owners have expressed outr...