A tire blowout on Interstate 81 caused a 3-truck crash that killed two drivers on Thursday afternoon.
It happened on September 7th at approximately 3:50 p.m. in Clear Brook, Virginia.
According to The Winchester Star, a tractor trailer was driving north on I-81 near exit 317 when one of its tires blew out. The blow out caused the semi truck to veer left and clip a Ford Mustang. The big rig then crashed through the median and collided head-on with a second semi truck, heading southbound.
A third tractor trailer on the southbound side swerved to avoid the wreck but was unable to stop and ran into the back of the first semi truck.
The drivers of the first and second semi trucks were killed in the crash. The driver of the Mustang was not hurt.
The names of the deceased drivers have not yet been released.
The third tractor trailer, driven by 53-year-old James Dull, then went off the road and crashed into the yard of a nearby home.
“I didn’t even have time to apply the brakes,” Dull said.
Dull suffered a minor injury to his left knee.
Another car in the southbound lanes had to slam on its brakes to avoid driving into the fiery wreckage.
“The fire started as a trickle, then it got bigger and bigger,” said Amy Hayes, driver of the car.
With the traffic piling up behind her, a fiery wreck in front, and a deep roadside ditch to the side, Hayes had nowhere to go.
“It was horrific,” she said.
The fiery wreck suddenly exploded, forcing motorists who left their vehicles to help to run for cover.
“I was sitting there screaming, ‘What do I do?’” Hayes said.
“The fire was getting hot. I was too close.”
A trucker not involved in the accident then approached Hayes and guided her through the ditch, bringing her and her vehicle a safe distance away from the inferno.
Both sides of I-81 were shut down for several hours as emergency responders put out the flames and cleaned up the mess. At one point, traffic was backed up for 7 miles. The highway has since reopened.