Interstate 81, VA - Two wrecks delayed travelers on Interstate 81 for more than 19 hours on Thursday before crews finally reopened traffic in all directions.
The trouble started early Thursday morning, with a wreck in Botetourt County that left one man dead.
The second wreck, around 6:30 p.m., between a tractor-trailer and a pickup truck, was in Rockbridge County, and it brought traffic to a crawl.
State Police said the second accident between a pick-up and tractor trailer, might have taken a life but will not confirm any fatalities.
Billy Carty was traveling south on I-81, unaware he was approaching a traffic nightmare.
"They need to do a little better to get us off the road and get us on route 11 to detour us around," Carty said.
He knew of the first accident, but guessed it would be cleaned up by the time he hit the road. It wasn't. All day, crews cleaned up the mess where two tractor trailers collided... hazmat crews cleaning a toxic chemical.
State Police confirmed that first accident killed one man.
But after a deadly and difficult day on I-81, by 9:30 p.m. roads were reopened and drivers faced smooth sailing ahead.
