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1 dead after car falls off ramp at Springfield Interchange onto railroad tracks

Listen to WTOP every 10 minutes on the 8s to get the latest traffic updates. A person is dead after a car crashed off a ramp at the Springfield Interchange and fell onto the railroad tracks below in Fairfax County, Virginia, early Tuesday. The car was driving westbound on Interstate 495 toward Interstate 395 north when it went over a cement barrier near Exit 170B at around 1:15 a.m., according to Virginia State Police spokesperson Corinne Geller. The car landed upside down on the VRE tracks below and caught on fire, police said. The driver, who was the only person in the car, did not survive. The person hasn’t been publicly identified.

Both directions of the Beltway were unable to access I-395 for a few hours, but WTOP’s Traffic Center reported that the ramps reopened by 5 a.m. WTOP’s Luke Lukert, who reported from a nearby train station, said VRE operations don’t appear to be affected. Lukert said he saw a train going toward the area of the crash. Police are investigating what caused the accident.

Fairfax Co. seeks to exempt Potomac River to protect water if Va. declares drought emergency

Northern Virginia remains under a drought watch, and Fairfax County leaders want to make sure there’s enough drinking water to go around if Virginia declares a drought emergency. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors authorized Chairman Jeff McKay to write to Governor Abigail Spanberger, to request that the Potomac River be excluded from a Virginia drought-specific declaration, since Fairfax Water is dependent on the Potomac as its drinking water supply.
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