This weekend’s rainy weather apparently contributed to a fatal crash on the Capital Beltway (I-495) in Springfield, police say.
Virginia State Police troopers responded at 4:40 a.m. on Saturday (Oct. 3) to westbound I-495 for a single-vehicle crash at the 170-mile marker near the interchange with I-95 and I-395, a tangle of highways often called the Springfield Mixing Bowl.
“A 2025 Toyota Rav4 was travelling southbound (the correct direction of travel) on Interstate 495 when the vehicle hydroplaned and struck a traffic attenuator,” the VSP said today (Monday) in a press release.
Hydroplaning occurs when a vehicle drives over water that separates its wheels from the road, reducing traction. The Virginia Department of Transportation deploys impact attenuators, or crash cushions, to shield workers or objects from the impact of potential crashes.
According to police, the SUV’s driver, identified as 24-year-old Abraham Wrobeh of Alexandria, was transported to a local hospital with “serious injuries.” He died from his injuries “a few hours later.”
Wrobeh was the vehicle’s only occupant, a state police spokesperson confirmed to FFXnow.
“Wrobeh was wearing a seatbelt,” the VSP said, adding that “the crash remains under investigation.”
According to the National Weather Service, approximately 0.4 inches of rain have fallen at Dulles International Airport so far in October. The increased precipitation over the past few weeks has eased the drought plaguing Northern Virginia, but it can create dangerous travel conditions.
Wrobeh was one of two people killed in crashes in the Springfield area this past weekend. Last night (Sunday), a 44-year-old man identified by the Fairfax County Police Department as Thomas Gum died after he was struck by an SUV driver while crossing Old Keene Mill Road near Backlick Road.
