A driver was killed Sunday afternoon after rear-ending an oxygen delivery truck on westbound Interstate 66 in Fairfax County, triggering a crash that shut down the highway near one of Northern Virginia's busiest interchanges for hours. Police officers responded around 4:10 p.m. to reports of a multi-vehicle crash at the 64.2-mile marker, in the express lane just outside the Capital Beltway.
Virginia State Police confirmed the driver died in the crash and said troopers are still working to identify the victim and notify next of kin, according to DC News Now. Crews with the outlet reported at the scene that a vehicle had rear-ended the truck, which was carrying oxygen. Commuters posting to Reddit described a white SUV becoming wedged underneath the truck's rear end during the impact, with a fire breaking out near the back of the vehicle.
The stretch of highway where the crash happened sits directly beside the interchange with I-495 and the exit for Gallows Road in the Dunn Loring and Merrifield area, according to background documented on Wikipedia — a merge point where heavy traffic funnels into dynamically tolled express lanes. Those lanes are operated under a 50-year public-private agreement between the Virginia Department of Transportation and I-66 Express Mobility Partners.
Highway Shut Down for Hours as Crews Cleared the Scene
The Virginia Department of Transportation issued a series of updates as the situation evolved. The updates listed closures of the west left shoulder and the left outside lane at mile marker 64.3, as well as the entrance ramp at mile marker 64.3. VDOT also announced that all westbound lanes were closed until further notice at mile marker 64.2.
The crash involved an oxygen truck, and a fire was reported near the rear of the vehicle.
Investigators Will Lean on Black Box Data and Crash Reconstruction
The crash remains under investigation. Virginia law requires a law-enforcement officer investigating a motor-vehicle accident involving injury, death or at least $3,000 in apparent property damage to forward a written report to the Department of Motor Vehicles within 24 hours after completing the investigation, under Virginia Code § 46.2-373. Investigators are working to piece together how the highway collision unfolded.
Part of a Grim Surge in Fairfax County Traffic Deaths
This crash is a traffic fatality in Fairfax County this year. Fairfax County has also experienced crashes and traffic deaths in previous years.
The crash underscores ongoing traffic-safety concerns in Virginia. Nonprofit DRIVE SMART Virginia is a traffic-safety organization.
Sunday's crash follows a string of severe Northern Virginia highway incidents Hoodline has covered in recent weeks, including a head-on GW Parkway crash that closed lanes for hours and a fatal vehicle fire on Richmond Highway in Stafford County days earlier. No further details on the identity of the victim or the cause of the crash have been released as the investigation continues.
