Roanoke hospital emergency room ambulance accident
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A tractor trailer driver has been charged with reckless driving in an accident on Interstate 81 that killed three people in Roanoke County on Monday.

Additional charges are pending against the tractor trailer driver, El Hadji Karamoko Quattara, 58, according to Virginia State Police.

Lorraine Renee Williams, 65; Ebony Latasha Williams, 49; and Shazziyah Lesley, 2, all of Charlotte, N.C., were transported to Roanoke Memorial Hospital where they later died. Three other people were transported to the hospital.

According to police, a Honda Odyssey was stopped on the right shoulder of the roadway with six occupants just after 11 p.m. on I-81 northbound at the 145 mile marker.

The tractor trailer was driving north, when Quattara ran off the right side of the roadway and struck the Honda.

The driver of the Honda was among the dead. Three other passengers in the Honda – a 63-year-old man, a 73-year-old man and a 10-year-old girl – were wearing their seatbelts and transported to Roanoke Memorial Hospital for injuries received in the crash.

The crash remains under investigation.

Published by Crystal Graham

Crystal Abbe Graham is a reporter and ad manager for Augusta Free Press. A 1999 graduate of Virginia Tech, she has worked for 25 years as a reporter and editor for several Virginia publications, written a book, and garnered more than a dozen Virginia Press Association awards for writing and graphic design. She was the co-host of "Viewpoints," a weekly TV news show, and co-host of "Virginia Tonight," a nightly TV news show, both broadcast on PBS. Her work on "Virginia Tonight" earned her a national Telly award for excellence in television. You can reach her at crystal@augustafreepress.com.