VIRGIL, N.Y. — Forty-year-old Rashida Brown was driving on Interstate 81 in Cortland County early Wednesday morning when she ran out of gas.
The crash occurred at around 3:52 a.m. Wednesday morning on Interstate 81 in Virgil, near mile marker 45. A roughly 1-mile stretch of highway was closed for about 7 hours, with traffic reduced to one lane.
Brown was stopped in the driving lane with her vehicle's headlights turned off when her 2016 Toyota Corolla was struck from behind by a tractor trailer, according to New York State Police.
After the collision, the tractor trailer overturned off the east shoulder of the roadway. Police did not say if the driver was injured.
Police investigating fatal I-81 crash in Virgil
Brown, who is from Long Island, was transported to Cortland Regional Medical Center where she died from injuries sustained in the collision.
The driver, Roger L. Brooks, is a 59-year-old resident of Stuarts Draft, Virg. No traffic tickets have been issued, but police said they are continuing their investigation.
