Fatal 10-vehicle crash shuts down I-81 in western Virginia
Interstate 81 in Rockbridge County is located between Roanoke and Charlottesville in western Virginia.
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ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY, Va. - A chain-reaction crash involving at least 10 vehicles, including several tractor-trailers, shut down Interstate 81 on Thursday evening and left one person dead, according to Virginia State Police.
The pileup occurred around 5 p.m. near the 181-mile marker in Rockbridge County.
Authorities said traffic began slowing due to an earlier two-vehicle crash when multiple vehicles collided in the northbound lanes, triggering the chain reaction collision.
The victim who died was identified as a Minnesota resident, who was in one of the last vehicles to strike the pileup.
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A medical helicopter was dispatched to transport victims to a trauma center, but poor weather conditions prevented the airlift.
All of the injured, including the driver of a medical transport van, were taken to local medical centers via ground ambulances.
It was not immediately clear whether the wet weather directly contributed to the crash, but heavy rain was reported in the area at the time.
The northbound lanes of I-81 were closed for roughly eight hours as crews worked to clear debris and fuel spills from the roadway.
Traffic was reported to be flowing again in both directions around 1 a.m. Friday.
State police said the crash remains under investigation as troopers work to determine the sequence of events.
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Pileups along the busy interstate are frequent during winter months, when snow and ice often create hazardous driving conditions in the higher elevations of western Virginia.
In 2018, a multi-vehicle crash in heavy snow stranded drivers for hours, which required the Virginia National Guard to help assist motorists off the highway.