Updated at 11:35 a.m. — All travel lanes on I-495 reopened around 10:30 a.m.
Earlier: A multi-car crash on I-495 is causing substantial delays in Tysons.
Shortly after 9:30 a.m., the north right outside lane and right shoulder closed, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.
Drivers can expect delays, according to VDOT. As of 9:50 a.m., traffic is crawling along northbound I-495 up to Route 123.
FINAL: Multi-Vehicle Crash with Injury. I-495 NB (Inner Loop) Main Lines before VA-123 (Exit 46). Fairfax County, Virginia. Incident contained to right shoulder and all travel lanes are reopened. Delays remain beginning near VA-620.
— MATOC Alerts (@MATOC) June 25, 2019
Update: Accident: NB on I-495 at MM47 in Fairfax Co. 1 NB travel lane closed.9:32AM
— 511 Northern VA (@511northernva) June 25, 2019
First image via VDOT, second image via Google Maps
(Updated at 10:20 a.m.) The driver of a tractor-trailer died today (Thursday) in a crash and fire on I-495.
Right before 2 a.m., Virginia State Police responded to a crash in the southbound lanes of I-495 at Exit 49, which heads onto westbound I-66, Corinne Geller, a spokesperson for the Virginia State Police, said.
The tractor-trailer ran off the right side of the interstate and struck the cement barrier, which ruptured the truck’s fuel tank, police said.
“This caused the vehicle to catch fire and become engulfed in flames,” Geller said. “The impact with the barrier wall also dislodged the vehicle’s axles, which ended up blocking several travel lanes.”
The driver of the vehicle died at the scene, and the Office of the Medical Examiner in Manassas will conduct an autopsy, examination and identification, Geller said.
The crash is currently under investigation, Geller said.
FINAL: Vehicle Fire. I-495 SB (Outer Loop) past I-66 (Exit 49). Fairfax County, Virginia. Incident clear and all travel lanes are reopened. Delays dissipating.
— MATOC Alerts (@MATOC) June 20, 2019
Map via Google Maps
(Updated at 11:45 a.m.) The previously closed lanes of Old Dominion Drive and Beverly Road just reopened after a car crash in downtown McLean this morning.
The Arlington County Fire Department dispatched firefighters to the crash at 6832 Old Dominion Drive shortly before 10 a.m. to help Fairfax County rescue personnel.
Police had closed the westbound lanes of Old Dominion Drive and soundbound lanes of Beverly Road, and around 11 a.m., traffic was backed up on both of those roads.
Two cars — a McHale Landscape Design Inc. truck with a trailer and a Honda Odyssey — were involved in the crash, police told Tysons Reporter. As of 11:30 a.m., the truck, trailer and car have been moved.
One woman was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, police said.
Catherine Moran and Vernon Miles worked on this story.
Map via Google Maps
An 82-year-old man from Falls Church died after he was struck on I-495 near Tysons on Saturday (June 8).
Barrington Holt was driving his 2014 Honda Accord northbound on I-495 when he ran off the right side of the interstate and struck a concrete barrier and a guard rail, Corinne Geller, a spokesperson for the Virginia State Police, said.
Holt got out of his car and tried to cross the northbound lanes of I-495 when he walked in front of a northbound tractor-trailer.
“The tractor-trailer tried to avoid Holt by braking suddenly, but was unable to avoid striking the man,” Geller said. “The tractor-trailer was then rear-ended by a northbound tractor-trailer.”
The fatal crash occurred less than a mile south of Route 7 around 12:30 a.m.
Holt died at the scene, Geller said. The tractor-trailer drivers, who were both wearing seat belts, were not injured.
Virginia State Police Trooper L. Vajglova is investigating a fatal crash in Fairfax County, Geller said.
Map via Google Maps
Fairfax County Voters Receive Mass Political Texts — “An unknown number of Northern Virginia residents have received anonymous, unsolicited text messages linking to WAMU’s coverage of an ethics complaint filed against a top candidate for chair of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors… The texts were not sent by WAMU.” [WAMU]
New Bike Trail Needs a Name — The Fairfax County Department of Transportation wants the public’s help with naming a new bike and pedestrian trail along the I-66 corridor. The online survey is open until June 30. [FCDOT]
Man Struck and Killed on I-495 Near Tysons — “Around 12:33 a.m. [on Saturday, June 8], a sedan traveling north on I-495 near Route 7 in Fairfax County when the car ran off the right side of the interstate and struck a concrete barrier and then the guard rail. The sedan’s driver, an adult male, exited his vehicle and was attempting to cross the northbound lanes of I-495 when he crossed in front of a northbound tractor-trailer.” [Inside NoVa]
Fires Erupted Around Vienna — Firefighters got a two-story house fire in the 9000 block of Edgepark Road under control yesterday (June 9). On Saturday, firefighters extinguished a deck fire in 8500 block of Pepperdine Drive. [Twitter, Twitter]
Local Students Win National Merit Scholarships — Students from James Madison and McLean high schools were among the 26 Fairfax County Public Schools students who won 2019 Merit Scholarship awards by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. [FCPS]
Fairfax County police officers decided to chip in to buy a new car seat for a Merrifield mom after she was in a car crash.
It all started when Officer E.J. Green from the McLean District Station stopped to make sure everyone in a two-car crash in Merrifield on Sunday (May 26) was all right.
No one was hurt, although one of the cars needed to be towed. Its driver — a mom who lives in Merrifield — decided to walk home.
“Green offered to take her child’s car seat to her so she wouldn’t have to carry it, but quickly noticed that the car seat was old and in rough shape,” the Fairfax County Police Department wrote in a Facebook post.
Green then talked to the rest of the McLean daywork — the A squad — about how the car seat wouldn’t protect the child, and they all decided to pool their money to buy a new car seat for the mom.
Green and Officer Brian Hungarter surprised the mom and her daughter with the new car seat about an hour and a half later at 1:30 p.m., a spokesperson for the police department told Tysons Reporter.
“The woman was grateful, calling the officers’ actions sweet, kind and unexpected,” the police department wrote on Facebook. “We applaud these officers for making a positive difference in the lives of our community members!”
Photo via Facebook
McLean Student Wins Contest to Study in Spain — “Ethan H., an 11th-grader at BASIS Independent McLean, has won the 2019 Junior Study Abroad Scholarship and will travel to Spain this summer. This national award, valued at more than $3,500, is given each year to 24 students nationally who become eligible by earning high scores on the National Spanish Examination.” [Inside NoVa]
Look Back at Falls Church’s Memorial Day — Missed the City of Falls Church’s parade and festival during the weekend or want to relive it? This article describes what it was like to be there with the young families who joined veterans and active service men and women to honor fallen service members. [WJLA]
Vienna Mom Qualifies For Olympic Trials — Perry Shoemaker, a 48-year-old Vienna resident, is the second-oldest woman to qualify for the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials.”Shoemaker’s journey to Olympic Trials qualifier started back in about 2011, when the family moved from Pittsburgh to their current home in Vienna… she did most of her runs pushing a jogging stroller and holding a dog on a leash.” [Runner’s World]
Tysons Restaurant Makes OpenTable List — Founding Farmers in Tysons made it onto OpenTable’s 2019 list of 100 best restaurants in America for a “big night out.” [Patch]
Falls Church Crash Injuries Five People — On Saturday, four pedestrians and the driver were taken to a hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries following a crash in a parking lot along Annandale Road in Falls Church. [Twitter]
Tysons Building at Full Capacity — “A new 150,000 square foot lease with an undisclosed company has capped off Rubenstein Partners and Griffith Properties’ lease up program for their jointly-owned building, Centerstone at Tysons. The single transaction brought the newly-renovated building to full occupancy. Rubenstein and Griffith acquired Centerstone at Tysons, located at 1550 Westbranch Dr., in July 2015.” [GlobeSt]
Photo via Founding Farmerres
(Updated 1:50 p.m.) A crash on I-66 is causing substantial delays near Vienna with one lane closed in each direction.
The crash was reported around 1:35 p.m., with one eastbound lane closed, then a westbound lane closed a few minutes later at the same mile marker.
Emergency crews are on-site assisting a vehicle in the median. Traffic is still moving in either direction, but with residual slowdowns in either direction.
Update: Accident: WB on I-66 at MM61 in Fairfax Co. 1 WB travel lane closed.1:40PM
— 511 Virginia (@511statewideva) April 15, 2019
Virginia State Police is investigating a chain reaction crash on I-66 near Oakton that happened during last night’s evening rush hour.
The crash — near the Chain Bridge Road exit — involved 14 vehicles, two of which caught fire after the wreck, but only one minor injury was reported.
“At approximately 5:50 p.m., Virginia State Police received a call about a two-vehicle crash in the eastbound lanes of I-66 near Exit 60,” said VSP spokeswoman Corinne Geller. “As oncoming traffic swerved to avoid those vehicles and then one another, a chain-reaction crash occurred. In the end, there were 12 vehicles in the chain reaction crash. The last two vehicles caught fire.”
Geller says the crash is still under investigation but charges against at least one of the drivers are pending.
Approx 6 pm last night, crews responded to I-66 EB prior to Rte 123 for report of multiple vehicles involved in a crash w/1 on fire. Units arrived to find 2 cars on fire extending to 3rd car. 14 vehicles involved w/19 passengers total–17 adults and 2 children. No injuries. #FCFRD pic.twitter.com/n3t8nv55xo
— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) April 5, 2019
Photo courtesy Virginia State Police
(Updated at 2:45 p.m.) An accident on the Beltway just north of Tysons has northbound traffic cut down to just 1-2 lanes as crews work to contain a large diesel spill.
The incident occurred around 1:30 p.m. just north of the Dulles Toll Road.
Fairfax Fire and Rescue says the spill came from a saddle tank of an 18-wheeler box truck. Hazmat crews have contained the spill, but three lanes remain closed.
Traffic along the northbound HOT lanes is not affected. Video from the overhead (below) shows heavy traffic building prior to the accident scene. Congestion is backed up for northbound I-495 at least to Leesburg Pike.
The incident conjures fresh memories of last week’s tanker crash that shut down traffic on the Beltway for hours, though so far traffic has been able to squeeze by on the lefthand side of the highway’s main lanes.
UPDATE I-495 NB Prior to Georgetown Pike: Leak contained. Fuel does not appear to have entered nearby creek. Units are going back in service. Will be opening up the one lane still closed shortly. #FCFRD #FairfaxCounty #traffic #vatraffic pic.twitter.com/EgGkg5SUSt
— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) April 3, 2019
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