Eastbound Interstate 66 in the area of Centreville, Virginia, reopened several hours after a crash damaged an overhead gantry leading to its removal.
Two crashes in parts of eastbound Interstate 66 caused traffic delays in Northern Virginia Wednesday night.
In the Centreville area, eastbound I-66 lanes was closed after Route 28. A vehicle hit an overhead gantry, and the structure was deemed unsafe. Traffic was diverted to Route 29.
The westbound lanes were open, but there were also rubbernecking delays.
The damaged overhead gantry was removed around 8:30 p.m. Around 9:05 p.m., crews finished the removal, and Virginia Department of Transportation opened the road and the ramp.
“This was a part of the old traffic management system. It was scheduled to come down, but not this soon,” said Dildine of the damaged structure.
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At around 1:45 p.m., police started receiving calls of a Toyota sedan driving recklessly on the westbound lanes. Police initiated a traffic stop, but the driver of the Toyota refused to stop. The driver, identified as Jordan L. Golladay, 25, of Manassas, eventually stopped due to the slowing of traffic.
As this was happening, police saw a Kia run off the left side of I-66 and continue into the median, where it hit a pole supporting a highway sign. The impact caused the Kia to catch fire, said Virginia State Police spokesman Corinne Geller.
An officer told Golladay to pull over to the shoulder, and then ran to help the driver of the Kia.
Golladay was arrested and taken to the Fairfax County jail for driving under the influence of drugs and driving on a suspended license.
The driver of the Kia has been identified as Andrea Nunez, 27, of Manassas. She was treated at the scene for minor injuries. Police are investigating what caused her crash and charges are pending.
Virginia State Police initially said that the driver who struck the gantry was not injured, and that she had been arrested on a charge of driving under the influence.
This stretch of I-66 is the second-most crash prone stretch of the highway, according to the WTOP Traffic Center incident database.
In the Manassas area around 4:15 p.m., at Route 234/Prince William Parkway, an overturned tractor-trailer slowed down drivers, but it cleared up around 6:30 p.m.
The driver was taken to the hospital for minor injuries.
The WTOP Traffic Center contributed to this report.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with new information from Virginia State Police.
