5:52 p.m.
State Police Sgt. Michael Conroy tells WSLS that the accidents and back-up were caused by a deadly motorcycle crash.
Investigators believe the motorcycle's driver was coming onto I-81 from I-77, then ran off of the road and into a culvert around 3:30 p.m.
Sgt. Conroy says that crash caused the traffic back-up that led to the second crash 10 minutes after the motorcycle crash, and less than half-a-mile behind it in the northbound lanes. Conroy tells us a car rear-ended another car that was slowing for the traffic back-up, and pushed it into a third car.
EMTs airlifted one person to Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
Sgt. Conroy says both crashes have been cleared, and I-81 is back open.
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4:43 p.m.
VDOT says there's a two-mile long traffic back-up.
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4:23 p.m.
VDOT says two accidents are blocking both northbound lanes of Interstate 81, near the I-77 spur toward West Virginia.
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