Fiery Edinburg Big-Rig Accident Caused by Reckless Driving | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

A fiery commercial truck accident on Interstate 81 near Edinburg, Virginia, slowed traffic in the area for about twelve hours after it occurred, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation and local news sources. 

The Northern Virginia tractor-trailer accident took place about twenty minutes before 6:00am on Monday, December 3, 2012. The crash occurred when the truck driver lost control of his big-rig, first running off the road and crashing into right guardrail, then crashing into the left side of the road, which consisted of a bridge and overpass. When the commercial truck came to a rest, its ruptured fuel tank caught on fire, which ignited the truck’s cargo, cardboard. 

The driver of the truck, 47-year-old Rickie Allen Robinson, was not injured in the truck crash. However, the accident resulted in I-81 being closed in both directions for several hours. During this time, authorities stopped the truck fire, checked the structural integrity of the overpass, investigated the crash, removed debris and the truck from the roadway, and repaired the damaged guardrail on the right side of the road. Traffic in the area was affected for about twelve hours after the crash and fire, though some lanes opened just a few hours after the collision. 

Robinson, the only truck driver involved in the one-vehicle accident, was charged by Virginia State Police with reckless driving, though it is unclear which factors contributed to the accident or how the truck driver was operating his vehicle recklessly.