An accident left a driver trapped inside his vehicle for 2 ¹₂ hours Saturday in Alleghany County, state police said.

Sgt. D.R. Legg said that a male driver ran his 18-wheel tractor-trailer off of Interstate 64 eastbound at mile marker 11.5 about 11:30 a.m..

The vehicle ran off the right side of the road where it hit a guardrail and tore out a section of it. The tractor-trailer then went down an embankment about 300 yards and into a creek.

Sgt. Legg said he did not know the driver's name but said he was from Chester. The crash is under investigation.

The driver was taken by helicopter to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital after he was removed from his tractor-trailer.

"The guy's lucky," Legg said. "He'll probably be walking out of the hospital in a little bit. Amazing, amazing."

-- Jessica Marcy