Wrong-way driver kills two on I-66

ARLINGTON – A wrong-way driver on I-66 Monday morning caused a traffic crash that resulted in two women being killed and three people being injured.

At 2:16 a.m., Virginia State Police Trooper R.G. O’Donnell was called to the scene in the eastbound lanes of I-66 at the 71 milepost near Route 237, the Washington Boulevard overpass, in Arlington.

A 1997 Mitsubishi Eclipse was traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes of I-66 when it crashed head-on into a 2003 Toyota Corolla.

The driver and two passengers in the Corolla were transported by ambulance to Fairfax INOVA Hospital. The male driver’s injuries do not appear to be life threatening. The two female passengers later died at the hospital. State police are still in the process of notifying each woman’s next of kin.

The driver and passenger in the Mitsubishi were also transported to Fairfax INOVA Hospital. Their injuries are not considered life threatening. The driver and passenger are both 17-year-old males from Fairfax County.

Alcohol is believed to be a factor in the crash. The incident remains under investigation and charges are pending against the 17-year-old driver of the Mitsubishi.

All eastbound lanes of I-66 were open to traffic by 4:50 a.m.