Police officer injured, 2 arrested after drunk driving crash on Beltway in Fairfa County – NBC4 Washington

Early Tuesday morning, three vehicles collided simultaneously on the Inner Loop of Interstate 495, injuring a police officer.

The officer was attempting to assist a drug-impaired driver on the Capital Beltway in Fairfax County after another drunk driver collided with a semi-trailer, police said.

Authorities said a Virginia State Police patrol officer was called to a sedan that had stopped in the area of ​​the Litter River Turnpike in Fairfax County after 3 a.m. The driver refused to comply with the patrol officer’s requests to exit or drive the car to a safer location on the Beltway, according to Fairfax County police.

The driver blocked a lane on the Inner Loop and forced a semi-truck to stop, police said. As the officer stood next to the sedan, a Jeep Cherokee crashed into the stationary semi-truck, police said.

The impact caused the Jeep to spin and hit the officer’s patrol car, which then crashed into the sedan and sent the car flying into the officer, police said.

The officer suffered minor injuries and was taken to Inova Fairfax Hospital for further evaluation, police said. The driver of the sedan was also treated for minor injuries after the crash.

According to authorities, both drivers were arrested for drunken driving. Both were taken to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.

After the accident was cleared, all lanes were reopened.