Two people died after a tractor-trailer and a truck collided into each other Thursday night on I-81 in Frederick County, according to Virginia State Police.
At about 8 p.m., the driver of a car was trying to merge onto I-81 in the southbound lanes and “failed to yield to traffic,” according to police. The car was hit by a tractor-trailer.
The tractor-trailer then swerved off the interstate, drove through the median and crashed into a truck headed northbound that had oxygen tanks.
The collision between the truck and tractor-trailer started a fire, causing the oxygen tanks to explode. Video from CivicView shows bright red flames and huge billows of smoke. The explosion damaged vehicles nearby, including a Frederick County police car.
The driver of the tractor-trailer died at the scene. The driver of the truck was taken to a hospital with injuries and later died.
The driver of the car involved in the initial crash with the tractor-trailer was not injured. Charges are pending, police said.
Drivers told News4 they were stuck in their cars for hours after the crash, which is under investigation.
Editor’s Note (9/11/26): The article originally stated that a Fairfax County police car was damaged. It was a Frederick County police car.
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