Virginia State Police are investigating a series of chain reaction crashes that occurred April 11 on Interstate 77 between the 14 and 19 mile markers in Carroll County.
At approximately 3:03 p.m., a Carroll County Ford 350 volunteer fire vehicle was responding to an incident and had its emergency lights activated when it slowed in the northbound lanes to take the emergency crossover to reach the southbound lanes, the report said.
A tractor-trailer was unable to brake in time and struck the fire vehicle, causing minor damage to both vehicles.
The driver of the tractor-trailer — Earl J. Drake, 30, of Cape Girardeau, Missouri — was charged with following too closely.
This crash sparked a series of minor crashes in the northbound lanes of I-77. Two drivers in those crashes — one from Austin, Texas, and another from Warrington, Pennsylvania — were also cited for following too closely.
There was only one reported minor injury among all the vehicles involved.
Responding agencies included Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, Carroll County Fire & Rescue, Hillsville Volunteer Fire Department, Hillsville Police Department, Virginia State Police and Virginia Department of Transportation.
