A commuter bus collided with a construction vehicle in Fairfax, bringing traffic on the Dulles Toll Road to a crawl.
Fairfax police said the crash occured in the east bound lane of the Dulles Airport Access Road 1/4 mile from Trap Road. Police report numerous injuries.
The access road was closed down, with the traffic diverted over to the toll road. Extensive delays continued hours later, and police advise motorists to avoid the area. For a long time immediately following the crash, traffic was at a complete stand-still, with motorists out of their cars and walking in the middle of the road, stuck.
The bus involved is part of the Loudoun County Transit commuter fleet. The bus collided with the back of a heavy construction vehicle, which in turn collided with a sedan. The trunk of the sedan was completely caved in by the impact.
Emergency workers assisted injured passengers off the bus, using stretchers. In total, emergency medical personnel transported 13 to the hospital, none with life-threatening injuries.
The construction vehicle involved in the crash has leaked over 80 gallons of fuel onto the road. Authorities said that the vehicle was what is called a crash-attenuator, parked at the start of construction zones to shield workers from traffic. The traffic attenuator would have had arrows on the back, directing traffic into the adjacent lane.
The driver of the commuter bus got charged after the crash, for failing to maintain control.
