A woman was killed in a crash that blocked traffic north of Blacksburg for more than three hours Tuesday afternoon.

Patricia B. Vaught, 49, of Blacksburg was driving a 1995 Ford Taurus west on U.S. 460 near the intersection of Bishop Road about 4:35 p.m. when the car swerved, hit the right guardrail, crossed Bishop Road and stopped when it hit the guardrail again, police said.

An ambulance took Vaught to Montgomery Regional Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, Blacksburg police Lt. D.J. Davis said.

Davis did not say whether Vaught was wearing a seat belt, and said the cause of the crash was under investigation.

-- Jorge Valencia