A tow truck driver who died on the Capital Beltway Monday night was running to get out of the way of a Mercedes SUV that struck and killed him, according to Virginia State Police.

The fatality was part of chain-reaction crash that shut down the Outer Loop of the Beltway in Virginia for seven hours. Everything happened less than a mile from Little River Turnpike.

Virginia State Police have not released the identity of the driver who died at the scene of the 10:22 p.m. crash.

Police are still working on the investigation, but here’s what they say happened.

The tow truck driver was outside of his truck on the shoulder of the Beltway helping a disabled driver.

The driver of another SUV, a Honda Pilot, rear-ended a Ford Edge SUV, as they headed south on the Beltway.

The impact of the crash forced the driver of the Pilot to run off the highway and strike the tow truck, which has its flashing lights on, according to Shelby Crouch with the Virginia State Police.

The tow truck driver, who was outside his vehicle, then took off running in an attempt to get out of the way of the Mercedes SUV.

The Outer Loop reopened around 5:30 a.m. Tuesday.