One man is dead and a police officer is in the hospital after a head-on crash in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County.
The accident happened near the intersection of Franconia Road and Gum Street shortly before 3 a.m. Monday.
A Fairfax County police officer was headed eastbound when an Infiniti heading the opposite direction veered into the officer's lane and struck the cruiser head-on, authorities said.
The Infiniti burst into flames. The driver, 52-year-old Jeffrey M. Woods, believed to be the only person in the car, died in the fire.
The police cruiser's front end crumpled, trapping the officer inside, but the passenger compartment was left relatively intact. The officer was able to radio for help and was pulled from the vehicle. A motorist who heard the crash went to the scene and helped the officer get out of the cruiser, police said.
The officer was transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The officer may have been responding to a non-emergency call. He wasn't using police lights or sirens.
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Authorities are still investigating the crash.
