A Friday afternoon wreck on Interstate 81 in Roanoke County is believed to have indirectly touched off two other traffic incidents, including one in Botetourt County, according to Virginia State Police.

Senior Trooper Gary Chafin said the first crash occurred a few minutes after 4 p.m. on southbound I-81 near mile marker 146.

James Kelly III of Potomac Falls was driving a 2001 GMC Sierra pickup truck when he ran off the left side of the road, overcorrected and lost control, police said.

"He actually saved himself from going into the northbound lane by cutting his wheels to the right," Chafin said, but added that the truck skidded nearly 200 feet before flipping over twice. Kelly and his wife were trapped in the vehicle and the roof had to be cut off to get them out.

Chaffin said the couple had cuts but no serious injuries, and Kelly was charged with reckless driving. The vehicle was totaled, he said.

A second incident occurred about 4:20 p.m. in the northbound lanes at mile marker 146.2.

Trooper J.M. Kennedy said a Dodge Neon rear-ended a Ford Mustang that had slowed for traffic, and the Dodge was then almost immediately rear-ended by a Chevrolet Malibu. Kennedy said he believed the slow northbound traffic was related to the accident that had just occurred nearby in the southbound lanes.

The driver of the Ford was traveling with two children, and Kennedy said another motorist, Thomas Smallwood of Daleville, helped them get out of the car, which was leaking gasoline. He said nobody was seriously injured.

Edith Austin, the driver of the Dodge, and Twyala Bison, the driver of the Chevrolet, were both charged with following too closely, Kennedy said.

A third incident occurred about 5 p.m. in the southbound lane, where traffic was still backed up because of the first crash.

According to Trooper L.A. Huber, a 2008 Chevrolet Impala was traveling in the left lane near mile marker 150, in Botetourt County, when the driver, attempting to avoid a vehicle in front of her, hit the brakes, swerved and collided with the tires of a truck in the right lane. She said the right front of the Chevrolet was crushed by the wheels and the vehicle was destroyed. The driver, whose name was not released, was charged with following too closely.

Virginia Department of Transportation officials said traffic was backed up for two to three miles in both the north- and southbound lanes after the accidents.

Chafin said he thought the number of vehicles on the road was also a factor in the crashes.

"You see a lot of traffic on Fridays, but not like today," he said. "The traffic today was as bad as I've seen on Thanksgiving Day."