Heavy rain was likely a contributing factor to a 10-vehicle crash on Interstate 81 northbound in Rockbridge County Thursday evening.
A Minnesota man was killed in the chain-reaction crash, and there were multiple non-life-threatening injuries, according to an initial report from Virginia State Police.
Abdiqadir Ahmed Nur, 36, of Shakopee, Minn., died at the scene; his vehicle was the last vehicle in the crash and ran into several of the tractor trailers.
The crash involved a total of six tractor trailers, three passenger vehicles and a medical transport van. There was no patient in the transport van at the time of the crash.
The accident occurred at 5:08 p.m. at the 181 mile marker on I-81 NB.
In addition to the bad weather at the time of the crash, traffic was slowing due to another two-vehicle accident on the interstate. It appears that the 10 vehicles involved began rear-ending one another, blocking the roadway and leading to a significant pileup.
The driver of the medical transport van suffered serious injuries and was transported to Rockbridge Community Hospital. A helicopter was called to the scene but weather conditions interfered, so the patient was sent by ground transportation instead.
The Virginia Department of Transportation set up detours to U.S. Route 11 in the aftermath of the accident. There were a number of fuel spills and debris to clean up on the interstate.
The roadway fully reopened eight hours later, at approximately 1 a.m.
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Crystal Graham
