Two injured in Blairs wreck

State police say the driver of a red Chevrolet pickup truck attempted to make an illegal turn on U.S. 29 northbound Tuesday night, sending himself and a passenger to Danville Regional Medical Center.

Virginia State Trooper H. Harmon said the driver was traveling northbound in the right-hand lane of U.S. 29, and turned left across traffic into an “official use only” turnaround in front of the Blairs Volunteer Fire Department building. The pickup was struck by a tractor-trailer traveling in the northbound left lane.

Harmon said firefighters were holding a meeting in the building, heard the wreck and called it in at about 7:10 p.m.

Both northbound lanes and one southbound lane of U.S. 29 were closed for 15 to 20 minutes, Harmon said. For about another hour, northbound U.S. 29 was limited to one lane of traffic until the scene was cleared.

Harmon said the pickup was totaled, and that the driver and his female passenger remained at the hospital at 9:30 p.m.

The identity of the driver was not immediately available, but Harmon said he had been issued tickets for failure to yield and using the turnaround that is reserved for emergency vehicles.