CENTREVILLE, Va. — A sedan slammed into the back end of a big rig early Tuesday morning, killing the driver and causing a traffic jam on I-66 in Centreville.
According to Virginia State Police, the sedan rear-ended a tractor trailer stopped on the shoulder of the eastbound lanes of I-66 just before the Rt. 29 exit shortly before 2:00 a.m.
The driver, an adult woman, died at the scene. The driver of the tractor trailer, a 35-year-old man from Iowa, was not hurt.
A VSP reconstruction team responded to the scene, causing a closure of the shoulder and two right lanes of eastbound I-66. Police reopened another lane of traffic, allowing three left lanes to get by the scene. The investigation backed up vehicles on the interstate for miles Tuesday during the morning rush hours.
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In a release Tuesday afternoon, police said the parked truck did not have its lights on and the driver was asleep in the cab.
The sedan, a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt, ran into the back of the truck and sparked a minor fire within the car. The responding trooper was able to put the fire out with a fire extinguisher, VSP said.
The crash is still under investigation. VSP did not release the identity of the deceased driver, as they work to notify her next of kin.
Samantha Kubota, WUSA9 contributed to this report. This story has been updated.