Police say passenger killed in I-81 tractor trailer crash had been in sleeper

UPDATE (Aug. 6):

Virginia State Police are still investigating a crash that left one person dead in Rockbridge County last Thursday and all southbound lanes of Interstate 81 closed for nearly half the day.

Police say a 2019 Peterbuild rear-ended a 2017 Freightliner in front of it around mile marker 197, near Lexington, sending both vehicles off the left side of the interstate.

The driver of the Freightliner has been identified as Del Cid Jose Amilcar Carcamo, 34, of Buena Park, California. Carcamo was wearing a seat belt and was not injured.

Police say the driver of the 2019 Peterbilt was identified as Caleb Andrew Littlepage, 22, of Perry, Fl. Littlepage was wearing his seat belt and was transported to the hospital for injuries received in the crash.

However, Littlepage's passenger, Cherone B. Thacker, 30, of Sanford, Florida, was unrestrained in the sleeper of the truck and died at the scene of the crash.

The crash remains under investigation.

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UPDATE (Aug. 3):

Virginia State Police continues to investigate a crash involving two tractor trailers that shut down the southbound side of Interstate 81 for over ten hours in Rockbridge County on Thursday, but they have released some new details.

Police say a 2019 Peterbuild rear-ended a 2017 Freightliner in front of it around mile marker 197 near Lexington. Both vehicles then ran off the left side of the interstate.

Cherone B. Thacker, 30, of Sanford, Florida, was a passenger in the Peterbuild and was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash, which resulted in her death at the scene.

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UPDATE (4:55 p.m. Aug. 2):

All lanes of Interstate 81 have been re-opened at mile marker 196 near Lexington after a closure of southbound lanes that lasted over 10 hours on Thursday.

Around 6:30 a.m., two tractor trailers were involved in a crash on I-81 South, killing one person and injuring another.

As emergency responders and VDOT crews worked to clear the scene, all southbound lanes were closed for much of the day, with drivers being sent on a detour around the scene along Route 11 to Lexington.

At the peak of backups, they stretched to 10 miles on Interstate 81 and at least 15 miles on Route 11.

Drivers faced additional difficulties throughout the day with a crash temporarily blocking traffic on Route 11 in Greenville and another crash earlier on I-81 South in the Raphine area.

The congestion on both I-81 and Route 11 in Rockbridge and Augusta counties will take quite a while to clear this evening, even with lanes open again.

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UPDATE (4 p.m Aug. 2):

All southbound lanes and one northbound lane of Interstate 81 remain closed near the Rockbridge/Augusta County line due to a tractor trailer crash, and those lanes will remain closed for most of the day.

According to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), cleanup from a 6:30 a.m. crash involving two tractor trailers that left one man dead and another injured will continue through the evening commute.

All southbound lanes are shut down from mile marker 196.1 to mile marker 200, where drivers are being detoured off of the interstate onto Route 710 (Sterrett Road) to Route 11 and back to the interstate at exit 195 in Lexington.

Due to extreme congestion on both the interstate and Route 11, VDOT advises a number of detour options, including:

• Southbound I-81 exit 213A (Greenville) in Augusta County. Follow Route 11 south and rejoin I-81 at exit 195.

• Southbound I-81 exit 217 (Mint Spring/Stuarts Draft) in Augusta County. Follow Route 654 (White Hill Road) west and then Route 11 south to rejoin I-81 at exit 195.

• Westbound I-64 exit 118A (Lynchburg) to Route 29 south at Lynchburg, then Route 460 west to Roanoke and rejoin I-81 at exit 143. (If heading west on I-64 and planning to merge onto I-81 South)

• Northbound I-81 exits 200 and 205 (Raphine/Steeles Tavern) are closed to prevent exiting traffic from backing up onto the ramps. Northbound I-81 drivers who need to access Route 11 in the Rockbridge/Augusta area should use exit 195 or exit 213.

If you're driving south from somewhere farther north in the Valley, one of your best bets may be to take Route 42 south to Goshen and then Route 39 to Lexington to get onto the interstate.

Some of these detours have led to problems throughout the day as well, with crashes on Route 11 in Greenville and at mile marker 206 of Interstate 81, but those have now cleared. As of 3:10 p.m., a disabled vehicle has the southbound right shoulder closed at mile marker 210.2, but there are no additional closures.

A separate incident has closed the northbound exit ramp of Interstate 81 at mile marker 213.

As of 4:10 p.m., backups from the tractor trailer crash stretched at least 10 miles.

Backups on Route 11, from exit 195 where drivers are re-entering the interstate from the detour, stretch a total of at least 15 miles, passing through Rockbridge County into Augusta County.

Plan accordingly if your commute on Thursday will take you south through Augusta or Rockbridge counties.

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A tractor trailer crash has closed both southbound lanes of Interstate 81 in Rockbridge County, just south of the Augusta County line.

The crash involved two tractor trailers around 6:30 a.m. Thursday morning at mile marker 196.1.

According to Rockbridge County Emergency Services, one person was killed in the crash and one person injured.

All southbound lanes and shoulders are closed there and are expected to remain closed for hours.

On the northbound side, the left shoulder and left lane have been closed as well.

Backups, as of 11:30 a.m., stretched at least three miles from the scene.

Drivers heading south are being detoured at exit 200 onto Route 710 (Sterrett Road) and then onto Route 11 before returning to the interstate at mile marker 195.

Southbound on-ramps at exits 205 and 200 have been shut down in order to avoid traffic getting even worse.

Route 11 through Rockbridge and Augusta County can be expected to face extreme congestion over the next few hours because of this situation.

You can find up-to-date travel times and maps for I-81

and live views of VDOT's traffic cameras

or on the Virginia 511 app.

Virginia State Police are investigating the crash.

Southbound Interstate 81 in Rockbridge County is expected to remain closed through the evening commute on Thursday (August 2), due to a tractor trailer crash near mile marker 196 in the Lexington area.

I-81 is closed to southbound traffic at exit 200 (Fairfield). Drivers will detour at exit 200, turn left on Route 710 (Sterrett Road), right on Route 11 (Lee Highway) and rejoin the interstate at exit 195 (Lexington).

Due to heavy traffic volumes, the Virginia Department of Transportation advises motorists to consider the following alternate routes: