BUNKER HILL, W.Va. — A multi-vehicle crash early Tuesday morning halted traffic on the northbound lanes of Interstate 81 in Berkeley County for several hours.
The Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office tells MetroNews deputies were called out at 2:37 Tuesday morning (May 13th) to an area near the four mile marker of the interstate just south of the Inwood exit.
Investigators believe a BMW sedan with Pennsylvania plates was traveling southbound on the interstate when it hydroplaned, hit a guardrail and crossed into the northbound lanes. It then struck the side of a tractor trailer.
The BMW came to a stop and became disabled in the middle of the road but the driver and passenger were able to get out.
The driver of an SUV that was traveling in the right northbound lanes saw the disabled vehicle and attempted to avoid it but instead hit another tractor trailer, causing that truck to hit the disabled BMW and flip on its side.
Another tractor trailer traveling northbound struck the flipped trailer and “suffered damage to the driver’s side of the truck and trailer.”
A final additional SUV ran over debris and got a flat tire. The Interstate was shut down for more than four hours and traffic was re-routed on to northbound US Rt. 11.
The sheriff’s office says no further information is available at this time, including vehicle and driver information, injuries or any potential charges.
Berkeley County Sheriff’s Deputy Carroll will be conducting further investigation into this incident and any information call be reported to Deputy Carroll at 304-267-7000.