MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — The driver of a passenger car is dead after an early morning accident on I-81 near Martinsburg.
Berkeley County Sheriff Nathan Harmon says the accident happened about a quarter to 1 in the morning when a 2013 Kia heading northbound sruck a tractor trailer that was parked on the shoulder of the roadway north of the 16 mile marker.
The passenger car caught fire as a result of the crash. The fire then spread to the trailer portion of the truck.
The driver of the tractor trailer was not injured in the incident. The driver of the Kia passenger car was
entrapped in the vehicle and pronounced dead on scene.
The identity of the driver is being withheld pending positive identification by the West Virginia Medical Examiner’s Office.
The interstate was closed for nearly two hours before lanes were partially opened to allow traffic by while the scene was processed.
Responding agencies included the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Division, Berkeley County Sheriff’s
Office Crash Investigators, Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Section, Bedington Volunteer Fire Company,
Hedgesville Volunteer Fire Company, the Martinsburg Fire Department and the Berkeley County Emergency
Ambulance Authority.
The investigation remains active at this time. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office at (304) 267-7000