Two drivers have been charged with reckless driving in the multi-vehicle crash on westbound Interstate 66 that left several people hurt and one man dead.
The chain-reaction crash began about 11 a.m. Saturday when Jonathyn R. Bland, 40, of Centreville, crashed the front of his 2007 BMW sedan into another car, then careened into a tractor-trailer carrying water bottles, Virginia State Police said.
The tractor-trailer, driven by Shahbaz Singh, 34, of Fairfax, hit several vehicles, including a Toyota Rav4, then overturned, police said.
After the impact, the Toyota ran off the side of the road, went over a Jersey wall and caught fire.
The driver, 28-year-old Joseph M. Castellano, of McLean, was caught in the flames and died at the scene, police said. His 28-year-old wife escaped the fire and was flown to a hospital in D.C. She is being treated for life-threatening injuries, police said.
Bland, accused of being responsible for the initial collision, was taken to the hospital with minor injuries and charged with reckless driving, police say.
Singh was taken to the hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries. Police say he was charged with reckless driving.
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Three other people were taken to Reston Hospital: One had serious injuries and two others had minor injuries.
A total of five sedans, the SUV, a pickup truck and the tractor-trailer were damaged in the collision, which shut down the westbound lanes for 11 hours.
The crash left vehicles strewn across the roadway. Photos from the scene showed the tractor-trailer toppled over multiple lanes.
"It was the most horrific thing I’ve ever seen in my life," said Jennifer Lofquist, a witness who stopped to help crash victims.
Police say the investigation is ongoing.
A fundraiser has been started to help with funeral, memorial and hospital costs for the Castellanos.
