25-year-old Wytheville woman dies in Interstate 81 crash

3 girls, 5 years old and younger, all flown to hospital

WYTHE COUNTY, Va. – A 25-year-old Wytheville woman died in a two-vehicle crash Monday morning on Interstate 81 in Wythe County.

State Police responded to the crash in the northbound lanes at Exit 72 at 11:11 a.m.

A 2014 Chevrolet Equinox was heading north when police said, it ran off the left side of the road, hit the guardrail, then crossed back onto the road where it hit a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado that was towing a horse trailer, according to police.

The impact of that crash sent both vehicles off the right side of I-81, through the guardrail, down an embankment and into a ditch. 

The driver of the Equinox, Danielle Reeves, died at the scene.

Police said she was not wearing a seat belt.

Two 5-year-old girls and a 3-year-old girl who were in the SUV were flown to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. 

The 36-year-old man and his wife, both from Maryland, who were in the Silverado, were taken to Wythe County Community Hospital to be treated for minor injuries.

Police said both were wearing seat belts.

The horse in the trailer did not survive the crash and died at the scene. 

The crash remains under investigation, according to police.