News Flash

Update: 11:00 AM - Haz Mat Crews on Scene of Tanker Wreck, Police Evacuate Homes

(June 11, 2014 - 11:00 AM) Earlier this morning, a tanker flipped over an embankment in one of the curves on Jae Valley Road. The tanker contained 8000 gallons of embalming fluid and is believed to be leaking.

The 4200 block of Jae Valley Road is currently closed in both directions.

Fire and Rescue crews from the Vinton, Mount Pleasant, and Cave Spring stations are on scene, as well as a Virginia Department of Emergency Management-Haz Mat crew and the Roanoke Valley Haz Mat Team.

The Police Department is on scene and is evacuating the area from the crash site in the 4200 block of Jae Valley Road up to Sun Valley Road. The Roanoke County Police Department has knocked on the doors of nearly twenty homes in the area of the crash site (from 4200 Jae Valley Raod down to Sun Valley Road) asking them to evacuate their homes.

Officers have told evacuees that they may come to the Mount Pleasant Elementary School at 3216 Mount Pleasant Boulevard as an evacuation site if needed. Police personnel will be at the school to provide shelter for the evacuees if needed.

The driver of the overturned tanker was able to climb out of the tractor and has been transported to a local hospital with what is believed to be non-life threatening injuries.

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Both lanes of Route 116 in Roanoke County are closed due to a tractor-trailer crash. Route 116 is completely closed starting about 1.5 miles south of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Drivers should avoid the area and seek alternate routes.

No estimated time for reopening Route 116 has been established.

For updates on this incident, visit www.511Virginia.org