MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Va. – A 31-year-old woman is dead after a four-vehicle crash completely shut down Interstate 81 North in Montgomery County for nearly two hours, according to Virginia State Police.
Police say it was a fatal crash with multiple injuries.
Recommended Videos
The crash happened at mile marker 127.6, just south of the Ironto exit.
At 1:15 p.m., a tractor-trailer traveling down Christiansburg mountain in the right lane veered into the left lane when it approached traffic that was slowing down and sideswiped a passenger car traveling in the left lane, according to state police.
Then, the truck then hit a second passenger car in the rear, causing that vehicle to strike a box truck in the rear which was also traveling in the left lane.
In addition to the fatality, two other people were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.Â
Due to the accident, students in Christiansburg & Eastern Montgomery experienced bus delays this afternoon, according to a tweet from Montgomery County Public Schools.
At 3:21 p.m., part of the road was reopened and at 3:57 p.m., both lanes were reopened.
At 4:03 p.m., VDOT was reporting backups of about 19 miles.
At 9:10 p.m., VDOT was reporting backups of about 10 miles.
Stay with WSLS 10 for more on this developing story.