Reporter: David Tate
Botetourt Co., VA - One man is dead, and I-81 was closed for much of the day as crews worked to cleanup a chemical spill following a tractor trailer accident.
State Police say Wayne Kratzer, 51, of Pennsylvania, died in the wreck in, and authorities say he was trapped for more than three hours then died on the way to the hospital.
When rescue crews got on scene, they quickly realized they were dealing with a leak of Thioglycol, a chemical used in the textile industry but considered a poison.
Two barrels ruptured in the wreck, slowing down the rescue. It also forced residents within a half mile to evacuate their homes for about seven hours.
As sophomore Alyssa Muraay waited for her bus to James River High School to come, and waited, she wondered what the holdup was.
"I came out and I was expecting my bus and I was like, 'Dad is my bus coming?' He's like, 'Wait a couple minutes'. I came out and I'm sitting, and it's not coming," said Muraay.
That's because five miles up I-81 a major wreck put a stop to traffic hours before.
A truck hauling two trailers north to Pennsylvania went into the median and tipped. One trailer landed in the southbound lane where it was hit by another truck and chemicals spilled all over the interstate.
"The driver of the Yellow Freight truck was trapped for several hours in the cab, and he died en route to Roanoke Memorial Hospital a short time later," said Sgt. Robert Carpentieri with Virginia State Police
The wreck brought traffic in both directions to a standstill, which was then detoured down Rt. 11.
That didn't help hundreds of travelers stuck in the middle until 9-30.
"When something like this happens, you fall asleep and hope it goes by quick but we heard the chatter on the radio that I guess it's pretty horrific," said Steve O'Neil, a stranded trucker.
By mid-morning an evacuation of the area was lifted as HazMat crews worked to clean up dozens of gallons of the chemical, a chore that would keep the interstate closed through the day.
