According to WRIC ABC 8News, a sedan slammed into a truck hauling tar on southbound I-95 near Ruffin Mill Road in Chesterfield County around 4:55 a.m. Monday, flipping the truck onto its side and sending tar spilling across the interstate. Both drivers were hurt and taken to a local hospital, though their injuries were described as non-life-threatening.
According to WRIC ABC 8News, a preliminary police investigation found that the sedan driver was trying to change lanes when the vehicle struck the truck. The impact caused the truck to overturn and spill its load of tar onto the roadway, creating a mess that forced a total shutdown of the highway's southbound side.
All Southbound Lanes Closed During Morning Commute
As of 7:03 a.m. Monday, all southbound lanes on I-95 were shut down because of the crash, snarling what would otherwise have been a routine start to the work week for commuters heading through Chesterfield County. Drivers were urged to avoid the area entirely and find alternate routes, as reported by WRIC ABC 8News.
The crash remained under investigation as of Monday morning, as noted by WRIC ABC 8News, with no further details released on how long the closure would last or what the cleanup for the tar spill would involve. No identities or ages for the two injured drivers were disclosed in the initial report.
Not the First Southbound Mess This Stretch Has Seen
Chesterfield's stretch of I-95 South has had its share of messy mornings. In a separate incident on the same corridor, a dump truck lost its load of wet concrete between the 71 and 70-mile markers, and WRIC ABC 8News reported that all southbound lanes were closed around 8:40 a.m. so a sweeper truck could clear the wet concrete from the road. That earlier backup stretched for 4.5 miles by 7:53 a.m., per VDOT figures cited in the report.
Monday's tar spill adds to a pattern of spilled-cargo crashes disrupting one of Virginia's busiest highways through Chesterfield County. For now, the cause of the collision remains under investigation, and commuters are left watching for updates before planning their next trip south.
