3 Killed, 2 Injured In I-66 Crash That Snarled Traffic For Hours

Updated 2 p.m.: This story was updated with information from the Virginia State Police

FAIRFAX, VA — An early morning collision on I-66 in Fairfax County on Thursday left a woman and two juveniles dead, two others injuries, and the highway closed for hours.

Virginia State Police responded at 3:06 a.m., for the report of crash on I-66 just before the Beltway that involved a tractor trailer and two other vehicles. Police confirmed three people had been killed in the crash.

The driver of a Honda SUV heading eastbound on I-66 lost control of their vehicle near the 64 mile marker in Fairfax County, according to VSP. The Honda hit a Toyota SUV before veering off the right side of the interstate. After the car struck a guardrail, it re-entered the eastbound lanes spinning. The driver of a tractor trailer going eastbound swerved to avoid the Honda, but both vehicle collided, police say.

The woman driver and the two juvenile passengers of the Honda SUV were pronounced dead at the scene, according to VSP. Two other juveniles were taken to Fairfax Inova Hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Police were still in the process of contacting family members of the victims and have not released their names.

The man driving the tractor trailer was uninjured, according to police. In addition, the man driving the Toyota SUV was taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for non-threatening injuries.

In the aftermath of the crash, all of the eastbound lanes of I-66 were closed through most of Thursday morning to allow crews to clear the roadway and crash investigators to examine the scene. The Virginia Department of Transportation diverted eastbound traffic at the Nutley Street exit.

VDOT reopened two lanes of eastbound I-66 around 10:48 a.m. and ceased detouring traffic. In a 12:16 p.m. Twitter post, VDOT announced that all lanes had reopened to traffic.

UPDATE: Tractor Trailer Crash w/ Injuries. I-66 EB before I-495 (Ex 64/Capital Beltway). Fairfax County, VA. All travel lanes are blocked. Traffic is being detoured on to VA-243 (Ex 62/Nutley St). Expect heavy delays on US-29 and US-50 in the vicinity.
— MATOC Alerts (@MATOC) September 9, 2021

Update: 66EB: The two left lanes have reopened and the detour onto Nutley has ended. Pls watch for responders who are continuing to work in the right lanes. https://t.co/sGJvbSjbrw
— VDOT Northern VA (@VaDOTNOVA) September 9, 2021

Update: All traffic is being diverted off at Nutley. Traffic stopped in the queue between Nutley and the crash is being flushed through the left lane. Pls avoid 66. https://t.co/EXzxel9ajw
— VDOT Northern VA (@VaDOTNOVA) September 9, 2021