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Motorist who injured 22 pedestrians after Sunday’s NASCAR race at Martinsville Speedway was arrested on a reckless driving charge, Police announced Monday.
USA TODAY Sports

The motorist who injured 22 pedestrians — all but five requiring treatment at two area hospitals for non-life-threatening injuries — after Sunday’s NASCAR race at Martinsville Speedway was arrested on a reckless driving charge, the Virginia State Police announced Monday.

The male driver, identified as 65-year-old Gary T. Edem of Fairfax, Va., appeared before a magistrate late Sunday and was released on a $7,500 unsecured bond, Virginia State Police spokesperson Corinne Geller said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports.

It is possible more charges are coming, Geller said, but that now is in the hands of Henry County Commonwealth’s Attorney Andrew Nester.

“The investigation is still ongoing,” Nester told USA TODAY Sports. “Depending on how the investigation goes there may or may not be additional charges. It’d be speculation on my part to comment on that at this juncture.”

USA TODAY

Car strikes 22 pedestrians in parking lot after NASCAR race at Martinsville

Seventeen people — ranging in ages from 12 to 65 — were transported to area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, according to Geller. Five others were treated at the scene.

Edem, driving a Chevrolet SSR convertible, was in a handicapped parking area when the incident took place about an hour after the race concluded. Edem attempted to pass a Jeep while in traffic when his vehicle struck the Jeep, then the pedestrians.

Edem, the driver of the Jeep and the passenger in the Jeep were uninjured, according to Geller.

“He didn’t know where he was or what he did,” witness Roger Wolfe of Morgantown, W.Va., told USA TODAY Sports on Sunday. “You could hear the screams for help. They must have had 15, 20 police cars and ambulances down there. The guy who got ran over had a sheet up to his neck. I figured he was pretty bad off.”

Geller said previously that alcohol did not appear to be a factor in the crash.

The people struck were standing in an area outside Turn 2 near the helipad, a popular spot for fans who line up in hopes of getting autographs from drivers as they depart the speedway.

Contribuing: Jeff Gluck

Follow Perez on Twitter @byajperez and Gluck @jeff_gluck