In a statement, Virginia State Police said they got a call about a two-vehicle crash in those eastbound lanes around 5:50 p.m. A chain-reaction crash involving 12 cars had followed, as drivers tried to avoid the initial crash.
The last two cars of those 12 caught fire. Only a minor injury has been reported, police said. That driver was treated at the scene.
Traffic was moving to a crawl even after two lanes were reopened, eventually easing up around 8:30 p.m., when the last closures were removed.
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