Tractor-trailer driver dies in single-vehicle crash Friday on I-81

At 1:42 p.m. Friday (May 31), Virginia State Police responded to a single-vehicle crash on Interstate 81 where a tractor-trailer ran off the road at the 99 mile marker and overturned. The driver did not survive the crash. The truck is loaded with paper products. The crash remains under investigation.

A first responder on the scene said once the truck left the highway heading northbound, it went up an embankment, overturned and came to rest in some trees on its top.

He said the cab of the truck was badly damaged.

Currently both lanes of I-81 are open and will remain open until later this evening when crews plan to close one lane so they can unload the truck before setting it upright to remove it.

Dublin and Newbern fire department personnel responded to the scene along with Virginia State Police and REMSI personnel.

The accident caused heavy traffic on the roadways around Dublin, Newbern and Pulaski as of late Friday afternoon.

The Patriot