Police in Galax, Va., said several people died due to a multi-vehicle pileup that shut down Interstate 77 at the Virginia-North Carolina border.
WSLS-TV reported that 75 vehicles were involved, that three people died and that 25 were injured and taken to area hospitals.
Both the northbound and southbound lanes were closed. The northbound lanes reopened Sunday night and the southbound lanes reopened about midnight Monday.
Police said heavy fog was to blame for the pileup. Investigators said the first in a series of crashes began at approximately 1:15 p.m. in the southbound lanes near Fancy Gap Mountain.
Virginia State Police spokesperson Corinne Geller told the Associated Press that several vehicles caught fire, but those blazes were extinguished.
The Virginia Department of Transportation's 511 website said traffic backed up about 8 miles. Motorists were advised to avoid the area. A detour was set up at exits 24, 14 and 8. The Department of Transportation said tractor-trailers weren't allowed on the detour.
The deceased were identified as William M. Sosebee, 33, of Allen, Ky.; Kathern Worley, 71, of Iron Station, N.C.; and Andrew Katbi, 24, of Delphos, Ohio, the Associated Press reported.
