Stafford Man Clinging to Life after 5-Car Pile Up

UPDATE 7:30 p.m.

A Stafford County man suffered life-threatening injuries in a crash that closed a portion of the High Occupancy Vehicle lanes today.

Virginia State Police at 3:31 p.m. reported a Ford F-150 pickup traveling south on the HOV lanes — at mile post 153 south near Va. 234 in Dumfries — that failed to break in time to avoid a slowing Honda Civic. The truck slammed into the Civic, pushing the small car underneath a Toyota Sienna. That impact forced the Sienna to overturn and collide with a Honda Accord.

Meanwhile, the F-150 veered to the left and stuck a Hyundai Accent, said Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller.

The driver of the Civic, a 33-year-old Stafford man, was flown to Innova Fairfax Hospital with life-threatening injuries. The driver of the F-150 was taken to Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center where he was treated and released. Identified as Jason Cannon, 37, of King George, Va., he is charged with reckless driving, said Geller.

The drivers of the three other cars involved in the crash were also treated for injuries that did not appear to be life threatening.

The HOV lanes reopened about 5 p.m.

5:30 p.m. 

DUMFRIES, Va. — Traffic on Interstate 95 south is moving again – slowly.

A crash closed the High Occupancy Vehicle lanes at Dumfries about 3 p.m., according to reports.

All drivers were diverted from the HOV lanes at the slip ramp prior to the truck scales as emergency crews responded to the crash. The cars involved were loaded onto tow trucks and debris was removed from the roadway.

The lanes reopened about 5 p.m. but delays on both the north and southbound sides of the highway had already built. The Virginia Department of Transportation reported an eight-mile back up from Dumfries.

The roll was also slow through Stafford County following the reopening of the HOV lanes. After the lanes reopened, traffic was no longer diverted into the general purpose lanes of I-95.