Two Tractor-Trailers Collide in Montgomery County on I-81 South | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

One trucker suffered serious injuries in a two-truck accident on Interstate 81 in Montgomery County, Virginia, in the early hours of Tuesday morning, October 30, 2012. Officials stated that the accident was not related to the storm and poor weather conditions in the area.

According to Virginia State Police, a truck had parked on the shoulder of I-81 south when another truck ran off of the right side of the road and rear-ended the first big rig. The accident took place at around 12:20 in the morning at mile marker 105 near New River Bridge and Radford.

The collision caused one of the two commercial trucks to jackknife across the southbound lanes of traffic, closing the road for several hours as emergency responders investigated the accident and cleared the scene. The Virginia Department of Transportation reported backups in the area while authorities routed traffic off the interstate and through Radford during clean-up efforts.

One truck driver was taken to a local hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The other trucker did not receive serious injuries.

The Virginia truck accident is under investigation. It is unclear what caused the second commercial truck to veer off of the road and onto the shoulder of the interstate. It is also unclear if the first tractor-trailer was illegally parked on the shoulder of the road. Parking on the shoulder of the interstate is often illegal, except in marked areas and except in times of emergency. However, far too many tractor-trailer drivers misuse the shoulder of interstates instead of pulling off the road at an exit or rest stop.