Driver who veered off I-66 in Northern Virginia, flying onto Metro tracks, charged with reckless driving

car seen through fencing sitting on metro train tracks
A driver lost control of his car while traveling on Interstate 66 in Fairfax County, Virginia, on Feb. 11, 2026, and ended up on the Metro tracks. (Courtesy Virginia State Police)
police officer looks at mound of snow on highway shoulder with tire tracks from crash
Tire tracks are seen in a mound of snow on the shoulder of I-66 in Fairfax County, Virginia, where a vehicle lost control and ended up on the neighboring Metro tracks. (Courtesy Virginia State Police)
firefighters standing near a car on Metro train tracks
A car sits on the Metro track near Dunn Loring-Merrifield station in Fairfax County, Virginia, after crashing from Interstate 66 westbound on Feb. 11, 2026. (Courtesy WMATA)
close up view of car from side with driver door open sitting on metro tracks
A driver lost control of his car while traveling on I-66 in Fairfax County, Virginia, on Feb. 11, 2026, and ended up on the Metro tracks. (Courtesy Virginia State Police)
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car seen through fencing sitting on metro train tracks
police officer looks at mound of snow on highway shoulder with tire tracks from crash
firefighters standing near a car on Metro train tracks
close up view of car from side with driver door open sitting on metro tracks

One person was hospitalized Wednesday after a car crashed onto the Metro track near Dunn Loring-Merrifield station, shutting down the Orange Line between West Falls Church and Vienna.

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue units responded to the crash at 11:24 a.m. in the area of Interstate 66 westbound, just before the Cedar Lane overpass. A car traveling on the interstate crashed onto the neighboring Metro tracks, and one person was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the department said.

According to Virginia State Police’s initial investigation, the driver of a Honda Accord reached down to grab his EZ Pass device and ran off the left side of the road, driving onto a mound of snow and ice that acted as a ramp and launched the vehicle airborne, through fencing and onto the tracks.

The driver sustained minor injuries in the crash and was charged with reckless driving.

The Orange Line was shut down in both directions between West Falls Church and Vienna for more than two hours. Single tracking between those stations began around 1:40 p.m., according to an update from the transit agency. Riders experienced continued delays.

The HOV lane of I-66 westbound was also shut down for a time, Fairfax County fire officials said.

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Thomas Robertson

Thomas Robertson is an Associate Producer and Web Writer/Editor at WTOP. After graduating in 2019 from James Madison University, Thomas moved away from Virginia for the first time in his life to cover the local government beat for a small daily newspaper in Zanesville, Ohio.

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