Blown tire leads to highway fatality

Virginia State Police is investigating a fatal single vehicle crash that occurred Thursday Oct. 29, 2026 at 7:33p.m. on Interstate 81 at the 68-mile marker in Wythe County. Bruce Layman Courtesy Photo Bruce A. Layman was traveling northbound on Interstate 81 in his 2000 GMC C7 truck when his tire blew out, causing him to lose control and drive into the median. The truck then crossed the southbound lanes on Interstate 81, struck the guardrail, overturned and went over an embankment before coming to rest along the treeline.Bruce A. Layman, 60, of Wirtz, Va., died at the scene. Layman was wearing a seatbelt.The crash remains under investigation.

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