Fatal Hit-And-Run On I-66 Caused By 18-Wheeler: State Police

VIENNA, VA — The Virginia State Police are looking for a tractor-trailer rig that struck a man along Interstate 66 on Tuesday night near Front Royal and drove away. The 18-wheel vehicle was last seen moving east on I-66 towards Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C.

The only description that accident witnesses could provide of the tractor-trailer was that it was white in color, the State Police said. The witnesses could not identify or describe the rig's driver.

The fatal crash occurred in the eastbound lanes of I-66 in Warren County, at a highway sign announcing Exit 6 for Winchester in one mile, the State Police said.

A rural area, Warren County is about 50 miles west of Fairfax County in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The town of Front Royal is the county seat.

Shortly before 8:25 p.m. Tuesday, a pair of pickup trucks was traveling eastbound on I-66. One of the pickups got a flat tire, and both vehicles pulled off to the highway's right shoulder at the 5-mile marker.

The driver of the pickup with a flat tire, a silver Chevrolet, got out to fix the tire, which was on the driver's side in the front of the vehicle.

The pickup driver was then hit by the tractor-trailer, which did not stop and kept moving east on I-66, the State Police said.

The pickup driver, an unidentified man, died at the scene, the police said. They were in the process Wednesday of notifying his next of kin.

The individuals in the other pickup were not injured in the crash, which remains under investigation.

Anyone who may have seen the crash or can provide information about the white tractor-trailer is asked to call the Virginia State Police at 540-829-7766 or email them at questions@vsp.virginia.gov.

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Image: Virginia State Police