A construction vehicle driver died after crashing on I-66 in Idylwood this morning (Friday).
Virginia State Police troopers were dispatched to I-66 West at at the Capital Beltway (I-495) around 7:51 a.m. for the single-vehicle crash, which was initially described by police as a two-vehicle crash with “at least one injury.”
The construction vehicle’s driver, 23-year-old Fredericksburg resident Devin G. Stewart, was traveling west in the left general-purpose lane on I-66 when he veered “through the traffic bollards and into the Interstate 66 Express Lanes,” according to the VSP.
“The vehicle then struck a guardrail and a Jersey wall and then flipped on its side and caught on fire,” the VSP said. “The fire also damaged nearby equipment for the EZ Pass system.”
Stewart died at the scene.
All westbound lanes on I-66, including the express lanes and the ramp to I-495, were closed “due to [the] serious crash,” the Virginia Department of Transportation said at 8:43 a.m. Traffic was diverted onto I-495.
The general-purpose lanes reopened around 11:13 a.m., according to VDOT.
According to scanner traffic on Open MHz, there was some initial confusion about the crash’s location after an automated dispatch directed Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department units to the Fairfax County Parkway area. Human dispatchers quickly clarified that it was near the Beltway.
FCFRD responders stated at 8:08 a.m. that a person in the vehicle “is believed to be deceased” and confirmed they had died at 8:15 a.m., per the scanner.
“The crash remains under investigation,” the VSP said.
Update #DunnLoring: All 66WB general purpose lanes have reopened. https://t.co/ogWDQK07IJ
— VDOT Northern VA (@VaDOTNOVA) August 23, 2024
UPDATE: Vehicle Fire. I-66 Express WB at I-495 (Ex 64). Fairfax County, Virginia. All I-66 Express and general purpose lanes remain blocked. Traffic still being diverted onto I-495 (Ex 64). Expect an extended closure. Delays are approximately 1 mile.
— MATOC Alerts (@MATOC) August 23, 2024
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