UPDATE: State police identify man who died in fiery accident Saturday on I-81 near Christiansburg
By Web Staff |
Posted: Sat 12:27 PM, Sep 03, 2016 |
Updated: Sun 11:29 AM, Sep 04, 2016
CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (WDBJ7) State police have identified the man who died in Saturday's fiery crash on Interstate 81 near Christiansburg.
Photo: Casey Taylor
Jeffery Curtis Pritchard was 62. He lived in Pulaski.
The accident tied up traffic for several hours.
At 11:31 am on September 3, Pritchard was traveling south on Interstate 81 in the right lane, three tenths of a mile south of Route 8 in Montgomery County. The tractor trailer lost control, ran off the left side of the roadway and overturned in the median. The tractor trailer and its contents caught fire fully engulfing the tractor trailer.
ORIGINAL STORY
Neighbors say they heard a tire blow which is normal, but it's the second explosion that caught them off guard.
Carol Love said, "I never saw anything burn like that in my life… I jumped out of my chair and ran to the kitchen window, looked out and saw the fire and black smoke."
The truck was headed southbound around 11:30 when it overturned near mile marker 114.
"That's when my house shook,” she said. “It felt just like an earthquake going off.
All this led to I-81 completely shutting down for about three hours.
"Next thing I know the traffic was backing up everywhere, and we had another explosion and it kept exploding,” said Love.
She says the fuel truck exploded about three times, sending a dark cloud that could be seen as far as Virginia Tech's campus.
"That black smoke? It looked like the smoke was all the way up to the clouds,” she said.
Love's house sits 230 feet away from the interstate. Saturday, she found out how close that really is.
She said, "And the heat you could feel it all the way up to the back of my house back there."
It's a sight Carol Love will never forget, and one she never wants to see again.
"Just pray for that man that was in that truck,” she said.
UPDATE
One lane of I-81 North and South are back open following a tractor-trailer accident.
Virginia State Police have confirmed that a person died in the accident.
There are still delays in the area, so drivers should find alternate routes if possible.
UPDATE
VDOT will be opening the shoulder on both the northbound and southbound sides of I-81 near Christiansburg in order to get the traffic moving.
It will still be a while before the accident is cleared.
The 2003 International tractor-trailer was hauling fuel. The tractor-trailer was the only vehicle involved.
ORIGINAL STORY
A 2003 International tractor-trailer that overturned and caught on fire on Interstate 81 near Christiansburg has closed the interstate.
Just after 11:30 a.m. Saturday, an International tractor-trailer was driving south on I-81. After overturning, the tractor-trailer and its contents caught fire and fully engulfed the tractor-trailer.
The 2003 International tractor-trailer was driven by Jeffery Pritchard, 62, of Pulaski. Pritchard was wearing his seatbelt and died at the scene.
The tractor-trailer was hauling diesel fuel and was the only vehicle involved in the crash.
The Virginia Department of Transportation closed several lanes while the cleanup was conducted to evaluate the damage to the roadway.
The fire occurred near mile marker 114.
The crash remains under investigation.
Here is more information from state police:
Interstate 81 at the 113.8 Northbound, there is a tractor trailer which has overturned in the median and is on fire. It is fully engulfed and the fire unit and police are on scene. Traffic has been stopped in order to let fire units deal with the fire. Both north and south bound lanes are shut down.
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VSP identifies man killed in tanker fire on Interstate-81
By Rachel Lucas - Virginia Today Weekend Anchor Published: September 3, 2016, 12:07 pm Updated: September 4, 2016, 10:24 am
5:00 A.M UPDATE (WSLS 10) – Virginia State Police confirm the name of the man who was killed in a tanker crash Saturday on Interstate-81.
Jeffery Curtis Pritchard, 62 of Pulaski died in the crash. Curtis was driving a 2003 International tractor trailer. According to Virginia State Police, he was wearing his seat belt and died at the scene.
At 11:31 am on September 3, Pritchard was traveling south on Interstate 81 in the right lane, three tenths of a mile south of Route 8 in Montgomery County. The tractor trailer lost control, ran off the left side of the roadway and overturned in the median. The tractor trailer and its contents caught fire fully engulfing the tractor trailer.
The tractor trailer was hauling diesel fuel and was the only vehicle involved in the crash.
VDOT closed several lanes while the clean-up was conducted to evaluate the damage to the roadway.
The crash remains under investigation.
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MONTGOMERY COUNTY (WSLS 10) – Virginia State Police are investigating a fatal crash. According to police, a tanker truck caught fire after crashing on Interstate-81 at mile marker 113.
Photo Courtesy of Billie Jean Hilton Photo Courtesy Billie Jean Hilton Smoke can be seen for miles from the blaze. According to Virginia State Police, at 11:31 Saturday morning a tractor trailer was traveling south on Interstate 81 in the right lane, just south of the 114 exit when the driver lost control, ran off the right side of the roadway. The vehicle attempted to correct, came back into the roadway and overturned in the median then caught fire said authorities. The tractor trailer and the contents of the tanker caught fire fully engulfing the tractor trailer.
The truck was the only vehicle involved in the incident and the only injury was to the driver of the tractor trailer.
State Police are working at this time to identify the driver and more information will follow when the identity of the driver and notification have been made.
No word yet on a cause of the crash or if anyone has been injured.
According to VDOT, drivers can expect major delays due to the tractor trailer accident. Both north and south lanes are closed.Traffic backups are approximately 3.0 miles.
There is 3 miles of Southbound congestion at this time. Southbound traffic is being diverted off at Exit 114.
WSLS 10 will continue following this developing story.