Police identify victim of deadly Interstate 81 three-vehicle crash

UPDATE (Sunday 11:30 a.m.)

PULASKI COUNTY, Va - A 73-year-old man is dead after a three-vehicle crash on Interstate 81 Saturday night.

At 8:51 p.m., state police responded to the crash at mile marker 90 in the southbound lanes of I-81 in Pulaski County. 

A 1991 Oshkosh M1074, a military surplus vehicle, was going south on I-81 when its driver lost control due to the slick road conditions, according to state police.

The vehicle was then hit by two southbound tractor-trailers and police say the M1074 and one of the tractor-trailers came to rest in the median.

Police say the impact of the crash caused the other tractor-trailer to run off left side of the highway, continue through the median, through the guardrail, cross over the northbound lanes of I-81 and strike a fence. 

The driver of the M1074, Ronald W. Harris, 73, of Gainesville, Georgia, did not survive the crash and died at the scene. 

Each tractor-trailer driver was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.

The Virginia State Police Wytheville Division's Crash Reconstruction Team has responded to the scene to assist with the ongoing crash investigation. 
 

UPDATE:

State police say one person has died after three tractor-trailers crash on southbound Interstate 81 in Pulaski County.

According to troopers, it's unknown if the snowy weather was a factor in this crash.

Police are still on the scene investigating, and drivers are encouraged to avoid the area.

ORIGINAL STORY 

The Virginia Department of Transportation says a tractor-trailer accident on Interstate 81 is causing major backups.

The crash happened at mile marker 89 in Pulaski County; near the Lee Highway/Wysor Road exit. 

One lane of both north and southbound routes are closed as of 9:30 p.m. Saturday.

We will update this story as we learn more from law enforcement and VDOT.