A six-vehicle pileup along a quarter-mile stretch of southbound Interstate 81 closed the highway near Buchanan for two hours and snarled traffic for miles this morning as crews cleared vehicles and cleaned up spilled diesel fuel.
 
The four crashes that caused the back-ups happened in Botetourt County a quarter-mile north of exit 167 at about 5:30 a.m., according to the Virginia State Police.
 
"We came out here this morning and what we saw was this tangled-up mess that we always see whenever it rains here," said John Manspile, chief of the Buchanan Volunteer Fire Department.
 
One person was taken to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital with what appeared to be minor injuries, and no one was seriously injured, according to state police.
 
Traffic slowly started moving through the left lane, which was opened at 7:30 a.m., as hazmat crews doused spilled diesel fuel with a sand-like substance and swept it away.
 
By 11:30 a.m., both lanes had reopened to traffic, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.