
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, November 23, 1995                   TAG: 9511290033
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG                                LENGTH: Short

TRUCK DRIVER CHARGED WITH HIT-AND-RUN

A Kentucky truck driver was charged with felony hit-and-run after a crash on Interstate 81 near Christiansburg on Wednesday, said Dirk Compton of the state police.

Marvin Finley, 27, of London, Ky., nudged a vehicle driven by Margaret B. Hairston of Radford out of her lane, apparently as he changed lanes, according to Compton.

Hairston "ended up hitting a culvert in the median, which, believe it or not, probably saved her life," Compton said.

Finley told state police he got out and checked on Hairston before leaving the scene. Compton said police caught up with him farther down the interstate. Hairston was treated and released from Montgomery Regional Hospital.

It was the second accident of the day on the highway involving tractor-trailers. Earlier, a tractor-trailer overturned in Wythe County and shut down I-81 for nearly an hour. Traffic crawled through one lane for another three hours, according to police.

- New River Valley bureau

by CNB