High school senior dies a day before graduation in I-81 crash in Southwest Virginia

Police say driver rear-ended tractor-trailer

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Va. – An 18-year-old man who was less than a day away from graduating high school is dead after a collision Thursday night on I-81.

Police say the two-vehicle crash happened at 10:10 p.m. in the northbound lanes at mile marker 7 when a 2015 Lexus 250 failed to break in time for slowing traffic and rear-ended a tractor-trailer.

The driver of the Lexus, Kirk Nairn, of Abingdon, Virginia, died at the scene, according to police.

Nairn was a senior at Abingdon High School and was set to graduate Friday night, according to WCYB.

The NBC affiliate reports that Nairn played soccer, basketball and was a member of the school's state champion golf team.

In the fall, he was planning to attend the University of Kentucky on an ROTC scholarship, according to WCYB.

The tractor-trailer driver was not injured in the crash.

At this time, the crash remains under investigation, but police do say alcohol was not a factor.