UPDATE 6:53 a.m.: Virginia State Police are searching for a tractor-trailer following a hit-and-run that took the life of a VDOT contractor in a Roanoke County work zone early Tuesday morning, leading to hours of detours and delays on I-81 North.
According to police, at approximately 2:38 a.m. on Tuesday, June 28, a worker was exiting a piece of construction equipment that was being loaded onto a lowboy trailer at mile marker 142 of I-81 and was hit by a tractor-trailer, which continued north on the interstate.
The worker — identified by authorities as 54-year-old Matthew C. Frazier of Clifton Forge, who was wearing a traffic vest — died at the scene of the incident.
Officials say they are working to identify the tractor-trailer using videos from multiple construction vehicles at the scene of the crash, which is still under investigation.
Crews had closed all northbound lanes at mile marker 142.6 of I-81 and set up a detour following the hit-and-run, but those lanes have since been reopened on the interstate, according to VDOT.
—
ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. (WFXR) — Tuesday morning motorists are running into delays and detours along I-81 North due to a tractor-trailer crash in Roanoke County.
According to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), all northbound lanes are closed at mile marker 142.6 of I-81.
The department says all northbound traffic is being detoured onto State Route 419 (Electric Road), onto Alternate U.S. Route 11 North/U.S. Route 460 East (E. Main Street), onto State Route 117 (Peters Creek Road), onto I-581 North, and back onto I-81.
While VDOT is reporting that traffic is currently backed up for one mile along I-81 North, the online traffic map shows motorists are slowed down until shortly before mile marker 140.2.
WFXR News’ Haley Connor is currently at the scene — where she saw an ambulance, as well as a number of construction workers and law enforcement officers — and is working to learn more about the circumstances surrounding the crash.
This is a developing story.