A driver died after their vehicle caught fire following a crash on the Capital Beltway (I-495) early Sunday morning (Aug. 15).
According to the Virginia State Police, a trooper responded at around 2:20 a.m. that day for a crash in the highway’s northbound lanes south of Braddock Road near Annandale.
“The Virginia State Trooper responding to the scene arrived to find a Toyota Camry on fire, and a white BMW with front-end damage,” the VSP said in a news release.
The Camry driver died at the scene. As of last night, their identity had yet to be publicly released.
Transported to a local hospital with injuries described as serious, the BMW driver has been charged with driving while intoxicated, police said.
“The crash remains under investigation,” the VSP said.
According to preliminary state data, 30 people have died in crashes in Fairfax County this year through July. Sunday’s fatal crash — the first reported in August — has been included in the data yet.
The death toll includes two crashes that occurred earlier this year on the Beltway. First, a motorcyclist was killed on April 15 in a collision with a pickup truck near Telegraph Road, and a sedan driver died from his injuries on Jan. 24 after losing control of his vehicle near the I-395 interchange in Springfield.
DWI charge in deadly Beltway crash & fire: Details now from @VSPPIO following the two car crash and fire early today that left one driver dead.
“Virginia State Police is investigating a fatal crash that occurred at approximately 2:20 a.m. this morning on Interstate 495… pic.twitter.com/k5aRWk34G3
— Dave Statter (@STATter911) August 16, 2026
