Published: March 20, 2008 10:22 pm      

Eight vehicles involved in chain-reaction crash on I-77

BLUEFIELD — A chain-reaction crash Thursday involving three tractor-trailers and other vehicles closed a section of Interstate 77 north of the East River Mountain Tunnel.

The West Virginia State Police, units of the Green Valley-Glenwood and East River volunteer fire departments, and the Bluefield Rescue Squad were dispatched at approximately 6 p.m. after Mercer County Emergency 911 received reports of a wreck in I-77’s northbound lanes two miles north of the tunnel.

A total of eight vehicles, including the trucks, were in the crash, said Trooper M.S. Horton of the West Virginia State Police detachment in Welch. One person was transported to Princeton Community Hospital, but Horton said he did know the extent of that person’s injuries.

Horton was still investigating the cause of the wreck at press time and could not be reached for additional comment. Northbound lanes were still closed as of 8:30 p.m. According to a Virginia State Police dispatcher in Wytheville, Va., northbound motorists traveling for the Easter holiday were backed up for several miles.

At first there were concerns that one of the wrecked trucks was carrying a hazardous chemical. Lt. Scott Cornwell of the Green Valley-Glenwood Volunteer Fire Department said a truck hauling a chemical was at the scene, but it was not involved in the crash.

Both northbound lanes of I-77 were closed, and the southbound lanes were blocked for 15 minutes to allow emergency units to reach the crash scene, Cornwell said.

Officers with the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department also provided assistance at the wreck site.

— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com