Wrong-Way Driver On I-66 Suffered From 'Mental Duress': Police

ARLINGTON, VA — A Pennsylvania driver was driving in the wrong lanes on Interstate 495 Thursday morning and then began driving east on I-66 in the westbound lanes in the direction of Arlington.

As the vehicle entered Arlington County on the wrong side of I-66, it struck another vehicle, according to the Virginia State Police. The driver of the vehicle that was struck was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

The incident began at about 10:30 a.m. Thursday when Virginia State Police began receiving calls about a red sedan traveling north in the southbound express lanes of I-495 near the Gallows Road exit.

As state police began following the car, it exited I-495 onto I-66 but was traveling east in the westbound lanes of I-66. The impact of the crash on I-66 caused the wrong-way vehicle to suffer a flat tire. But the Pennsylvania driver kept going the wrong way.

State police troopers eventually were able to get the wrong-way driving sedan to pull off onto the shoulder near the Lee Highway exit off I-66 at Lyon Village.

Initially, the 57-year-old woman driving the car refused to exit. According to the state police, the troopers recognized the woman was "suffering from mental duress" and were able to contact a family member.

The troopers kept communicating with the woman and were able to establish a rapport with her, according to the police. She exited the vehicle and was transported to a nearby hospital for evaluation.

Charges are pending against the Pennsylvania driver, the police said.