Injuries reported, bus driver charged after Giles County school bus involved in crash on I-81

Parent says students were heading to a band competition

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Va. – A school bus driver has been charged with following too closely after a crash on Interstate 81 Thursday morning, Virginia State Trooper Ben Davis told WCYB.

The trooper told the NBC affiliate that a mobile work zone was in place at the time and traffic had slowed to 55 miles per hour when the bus hit the back of a tractor-trailer.

A total of eight students were injured, the officer told News 5.

Three students, who complained of minor injuries, were taken to Bristol Regional Medical Center as a precautionary measure, according to state police.

WCYB reports that the bus was taking students from Narrows High School to a band competition at Virginia High School in Bristol, Virginia.

A tractor-trailer and the school bus collided in the southbound lanes at mile marker 12, according to state police.