Thursday was anything but smooth sailing on one Virginia highway.

A series of accidents on Interstate 81 made the commute a difficult one.

Jody Storch was driving home to New York state, treking along I-81 northbound. She got stuck in traffic Thursday after a series of tractor trailer accidents shut down more than 30 miles of the northbound lanes on the interstate.

"Maybe I should find a different way to go to New York," Storch said as she assessed the situation.

The first accident brought traffic to a halt at mile marker 316, just north of Winchester. That accident had no reported injuries and Virginia State Police were able to open the right shoulder to limited traffic within a few minutes.

An accident in Middletown proved to be more serious sending Jimmy Ray Hamilton, Jr. to Winchester Medical Center with serious injuries. He flipped his tractor trailer, which was carrying a load of watermelons.

The third accident happened in Strasburg at exit 296. Workers at the scene think it might have been related to the accident in Middletown, but this accident proved fatal for two people.

That accident was quickly followed by a fourth in Woodstock, leaving Storch and her boyfriend stuck in traffic and not in New York. The accidents delayed her trip by at least five hours.