The Virginia State Police released this afternoon the names of two men killed Friday evening in a three-vehicle accident on Interstate 81 in Wythe County after their vehicles were struck by a tractor-trailer.
Chris Darby, 50, of Goose Creek, S.C., and Harold Atwell, 66, of Max Meadows, died at the scene of the accident, which occurred after 6 p.m. near mile marker 75.
State police reported Friday that the driver of a tractor-trailer headed southbound on I-81 lost control of his vehicle, crossed over the median and entered the northbound lanes of I-81.
The truck struck a 2007 Ford F-150 and a 2006 Dodge minivan, police said.
It was not clear this afternoon which vehicle each victim was driving.
The driver of the tractor-trailer — Charles B. Connor, 25, of Hartford, Ala. — has been charged with reckless driving and failure to maintain control, according to Trooper C. D. Saunders. Connor was not injured in the crash.