Woman dead in I-66 crash that snarled traffic for hours

Traffic is heavy and slow on I-66 eastbound at Exit 47. (Courtesy VDOT)
Traffic was heavy and slow on I-66 eastbound at Exit 47 on Tuesday morning following a fatal crash. (Courtesy VDOT)
Traffic is heavy and slow on I-66 eastbound at Exit 47 on Tuesday morning following a fatal crash. (Courtesy VDOT)
Traffic was heavy and slow on I-66 eastbound at Exit 47 on Tuesday morning following a fatal crash. (Courtesy VDOT)
The westbound lanes of I-66 at Exit 55 awere also backed up following a second crash Tuesday morning. (Courtesy VDOT)
Traffic is heavy  in the westbound lanes of I-66 at Exit 53. (Courtesy VDOT)
Traffic was heavy in the westbound lanes of I-66 at Exit 53. (Courtesy VDOT)
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Traffic is heavy and slow on I-66 eastbound at Exit 47. (Courtesy VDOT)
Traffic is heavy and slow on I-66 eastbound at Exit 47 on Tuesday morning following a fatal crash. (Courtesy VDOT)
Traffic is heavy  in the westbound lanes of I-66 at Exit 53. (Courtesy VDOT)

A woman is dead following a crash on eastbound Interstate 66 in Centreville, Virginia, on Tuesday morning.

She was killed after her Chevrolet Cobalt rear-ended a tractor-trailer and caught fire on I-66 around 2 a.m. before the U.S. 29 interchange, Virginia State Police said.

The tractor-trailer was parked on the right should of the eastbound lanes. According to police, it didn’t have its lights on and the driver was asleep in the cab.

The truck driver, a 35-year-old man from Iowa, was not hurt.

All eastbound lanes reopened around 7 a.m. after an hourslong partial closure overnight but eastbound delays remained and stretched from Gainesville to Centreville.

Compounding headaches for drivers on I-66 was a second crash, in the westbound lanes before VA-28, that occurred shortly after 9:30 a.m.

“It’s a mess,” WTOP Traffic’s Jack Taylor said.

Traffic was slow-going for miles in the area but had mostly cleared up around noon.


For the latest traffic and road conditions, see WTOP’s traffic page.


The first crash remains under investigation, and the identity of the victim from that crash has not yet been made public.

Below is a map of the area where the crash occurred:

Will Vitka

William Vitka is a Digital Writer/Editor for WTOP.com. He's been in the news industry for over a decade. Before joining WTOP, he worked for CBS News, Stuff Magazine, The New York Post and wrote a variety of books—about a dozen of them, with more to come.

Alejandro Alvarez

Alejandro Alvarez joined WTOP as a digital journalist and editor in June 2018. He is a reporter and photographer focusing on politics, political activism and international affairs.

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