STAUNTON -- Virginia State Police said that three people, including two children, died in a multivehicle accident on Interstate 81 in Shenandoah County.

State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said another person in the victims' vehicle was injured and taken to a hospital. Geller did not have information on the relations of the victims, and did not know the condition of the injured person.

The wreck was one of several multivehicle accidents in the southbound lanes that began about 11:30 a.m. State police attributed the crashes to slick road conditions.

The southbound lanes were shut down Friday afternoon between mile markers 270 and 272 and traffic was detoured off I-81 at the Mount Jackson exit. Traffic was backed up for five miles.

--Associated Press