Two accidents tie up traffic on southbound I-81

July 31, 2009

BERKELEY COUNTY, W.Va. --Â Southbound Interstate 81 was shut down for more than two hours Friday morning following two multivehicle crashes near the West Virginia-Virginia border, according to West Virginia state police.

The first accident, which was reported at 6:03 a.m., involved two tractor-trailers and two passenger vehicles, West Virginia State Police Sgt. K.W. Martin said.

Police determined that a woman driving a Toyota Yaris lost control of her vehicle as she driving northbound on I-81 from Virginia into West Virginia.

The Toyota crossed the median strip into the southbound lanes, where it collided with a Kenworth tractor-trailer and an International tractor-trailer, police said.

Three people injured in the crash were taken to Winchester Medical Center in Winchester, Va., police said. Martin said none of them had any serious or life-threatening injuries.

The second crash occurred at around the 1-mile marker on southbound I-81 as traffic was stopping for the first accident, Martin said Friday in a telephone interview.

A man driving a Volkswagen Rabbit lost control of his vehicle, resulting in a collision with a Kia Sportage SUV, a Pontiac Grand Am and a Freightliner tractor-trailer, police said.

No one from the second crash was taken to the hospital, police said.

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