FANCY GAP, Va. — An overturned tractor-trailer on Interstate 77 South caused traffic to be backed up for hours Wednesday.

The tractor-trailer traveling southbound lost control and flipped completely over, causing 10 more vehicles to crash near the 3 mile marker. The accident caused traffic to back up as far as the 18 mile marker, officials said.

According to 1st Sgt. Mike Musser with the Virginia State Police, the accident was called in to 911 communications at 9:44 a.m. He said a tractor-trailer lost control due to heavy rain.

“The truck completely rolled over onto its top. It slid down the highway, spilling its load of ceramic tile. Two other vehicles then hit the trailer. We had another tractor to jack-knife. Basically it caused three separate accidents,” Musser said, explaining how the accidents happened.

He said four tractor-trailers, six cars and one camper were involved.

The driver of the first tractor-trailer was transported to Northern Hospital of Surry County by ambulance. Musser said that he heard reports that four or five people were injured and taken to the hospital, but when Virginia State Police officials got there, they were only able to locate two people. He said the injured may have been treated and released before the trooper could get there.

Troopers C.M. Delp and K.D. Blackburn are in charge of investigating the accident. Musser said the wreck report is expected to be complete sometime Thursday. He said none of the names of the injured were known as of Wednesday afternoon.

After extensive clean-up efforts, the interstate was reopened to one lane during the evening. Musser said message boards leading up to the accident site warned drivers of what was ahead.

“The problem is that you can’t divert tractor-trailers down (U.S.) 52, so you are better off not saying anything at all and let drivers figure it out with their GPS units and maps,” he said when asked if a detour route had been established.

The interstate completely reopened sometime before 8 p.m. Local officials were unable to provide an exact time because a private contractor handled the cleanup.

He said conditions at the time of the accident were also windy, but rain was the main cause of the accident. He said fog was not a factor at the time of the crash.

The Cana Volunteer Fire Department responded to the accident along with Cana Rescue and Carroll County EMS, according to Capt. Chad Hiatt of the Cana VFD. Franklin Volunteer Fire Department out of Surry County assisted with a standby at Cana’s main station.

The wreck is still under investigation.

Contact Mondee Tilley at mtilley@mtairynews.com or at 719-1930.