Motorist Says Monday’s Crash Due to Poorly Executed Rolling Stop; Victim in Critical Condition is Charles Town Police Officer – The Panhandle News Network | WEPM & WCST

Northbound traffic was backed up for several hours from the 14.6 mile marker down to exit 12 Monday morning. (WV511)

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Monday’s multi-vehicle accident on Interstate 81 in Berkeley County involved tractor trailers, a truck and a passenger vehicle, the driver of which is still in critical condition after being flown to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown.The Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office has identified the woman as Kassidy Noble of Berkeley County. Noble has been a police officer with the Charles Town Police Department for about five years.Noble was in a Ford Explorer that was part of a group of vehicles involved in the wreck at the 14.6 mile marker northbound around 3:30 Monday morning.

The crash occurred when a tractor-trailer in the far right lane failed to notice that traffic was coming to a stop due to road work.

Now, a motorist who drove through that stretch of interstate just before the crash, says a rolling road block set up to control traffic was poorly executed. The driver did not want his name released, but said he doesn’t believe the crash would have happened if not for the road block:

He says he and some tractor trailer drivers almost hit a construction vehicle that he says was hard to see and sitting in the middle of the travel lanes.

“If it were you or me we would have gotten a ticket for obstructing the flow of traffic,” the motorist says. The state police cruiser was off to the side with its lights on, as if it had someone pulled over.He says the trooper and the construction vehicle slowed them down to under five miles an hour two miles ahead of the bridge where the road work was happening. The West Virginia Division of Highways announced last week that there would be alternating lane closures on northbound and southbound Interstate 81, at Exit 16, in Berkeley County, from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. from Saturday through Wednesday to allow for the cleaning and painting of the Clarence Martin Jr. Memorial Bridge.

The motorist says he’s generally a person who supports police, but he believes this was mishandled.

The driver says vehicles were slowed down so dramatically that it made it hard for those coming up behind them at 70 miles an hour to slow down in time.

The Panhandle News Network has reached out to the West Virginia State Police for comment.

As for the driver, he says, “This changed people’s lives forever.”

“You’ve got a woman fighting for her life and a driver who will probably lose his job,” he says of the tractor trailer driver who was found ‘at fault’ for hitting Noble’s Ford Expedition. The Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department says any charges will be filed after the investigation is complete.

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WV511 showed the initial backup after the multi-vehicle accident Monday morning. (WV511)

In its initial press release regarding Monday’s accident, the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office reported the following:

Around 3:30 on Monday morning, Berkeley Dispatch received reports of a motor vehicle collision involving multiple vehicles at approximately the 14.6 mile marker of Interstate 81 North Bound. Berkeley County Sheriff Deputies responded and found that a total of three tractors-trailers, 1 Ford Escape, and 1 RAM Pickup with an attached trailer, were involved in the accident.

Officers found that the driver of the Ford Escape was in critical condition and being extricated from her vehicle by Fire and EMS personnel. The collision spanned multiple lanes and resulted in I-81 being shut down for several hours while the vehicles were removed and the roadway cleaned and repaired.

The crash occurred when a tractor-trailer in the far right lane failed to notice that traffic was coming to a stop due to road work. That vehicle then rear ended the Ford Escape, which was pushed into the middle lane, where it struck the rear of a second tractor-trailer.

The first tractor-trailer continued forward and rear ended the trailer attached to the RAM pickup which was pushed forward into a third tractor-trailer.

The driver of Escape was taken into emergency surgery at Berkeley Medical Center to be stabilized and then transported to Ruby Memorial by air. Her condition remains critical at this time.

The driver of the RAM pickup was seen at Berkeley Medical Center as a precaution but was released shortly after.

The first tractor-trailer that struck the Ford Escape was found at fault due to on scene findings and interviews that were completed. Charges will be filed once the investigation is complete.