2 unrelated fatal pedestrian crashes happened minutes apart on Capital Beltway, Virginia State Police say

Virginia State Police said that two fatal pedestrian crashes that happened minutes apart and nearby on the Capital Beltway Sunday morning were “unrelated.”

The two separate crashes both happened shortly before 4 a.m. and nearby Exit 176 in Fairfax County, a police spokesperson told WTOP.

The first crash happened when a pedestrian was changing a vehicle’s tire at 3:39 a.m. on the shoulder of Interstate 495’s westbound lanes just east of Exit 176. Police said that the pedestrian was struck by a passing truck and died on the scene.

The driver of the truck was also transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of his injuries from the crash, police said.

Charges are pending in the death of the pedestrian with the crash reconstruction team currently investigating the collision. Neither the driver or the pedestrian have been publicly identified by police.

Then less than 15 minutes later, police said officers encountered a woman in the eastbound lanes of the same area of I-495 near Exit 176. Police said that witnesses saw the woman stumble into oncoming traffic before she was struck. She died on the scene.

Police haven’t released information about her identity. Officials are currently investigating the second crash.

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Valerie Bonk

Valerie Bonk started working at WTOP in 2016 and has lived in Howard County, Maryland, her entire life. She's thrilled to be a reporter for WTOP telling stories on air. She works as both a television and radio reporter in the Maryland and D.C. areas. 

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