Icy I-81 caused tractor-trailer pileup in Sullivan Co.

SULLIVAN COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) — Seven commercial vehicles were involved in a pileup on Interstate 81 in Sullivan County shortly after midnight Thursday. The interstate was closed for nearly five hours afterward. According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP), multiple crashes occurred on I-81 at 12:33 a.m. near mile marker 67. As a result of the crashes, the interstate was closed until 5 a.m. The highway patrol reports a tractor-trailer heading north on the interstate when it started to slide on ice and snow. THP reports the vehicle slid backward and was facing south in the northbound lanes. It reportedly slid into the guardrails in the emergency lanes, and its trailer blocked the slow lane. Another tractor-trailer was heading north when it was sideswiped by the trailer of the first vehicle. After the collision, it came to a rest in the median. A third tractor-trailer swerved into the median to avoid striking the first vehicle. A Dodge Ram 3500 pulling its own trailer slid off the road into the median when it came up on the crash scene. A fourth tractor-trailer tried to stop before reaching the crash scene, but started to slide and hit the guardrail head-on. The vehicle and its trailer blocked all lanes of travel, THP reports. A fifth tractor-trailer pulling a tanker trailer tried to stop but hit the side of the fourth one's trailer. THP reports the last tractor-trailer hit the rear of the tanker trailer and was pushed under another trailer. All lanes of the interstate were blocked while the clean-up and investigation took place. According to THP, none of the drivers were cited, and no one was injured. Another crash took place around 8 a.m. on I-81 North at the 55-mile marker. That crash was reportedly caused when a pickup truck hit a patch of ice and hit the rear of another truck. No one was listed as injured in that crash either. UPDATE: All lanes have reopened, according to TDOT. BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) — The Sullivan County Sheriff's Office said that numerous crashes were heavily impacting traffic on Interstate 81 Thursday morning. The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) initially shut down southbound lanes before reopening one lane. According to TDOT's SmartWay Map, the crash was reported on I-81 south at Exit 63 at 4:49 a.m. The Fall Branch Volunteer Fire Department confirmed its crews worked a separate crash Thursday morning on I-81 at mile marker 51.2. Kingsport Highway was inundated with traffic following the crashes on I-81, as well: News Channel 11 has reached out to the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) for more information and will provide updates as they become available.