Wrong-way driver strikes gas line in Fairfax County, triggering leak and evacuations

FAIRFAX STATION, Va. - A wrong-way driver struck an above-ground gas pipe in Fairfax County on Wednesday morning, causing a major natural gas leak that prompted evacuations and closed a busy road.

A Honda SUV driving on the wrong side of Ox Road veered off the roadway near Burke Center Parkway around 11 a.m. The vehicle hit a 12-inch Washington Gas regulator pipe. The impact left the vehicle resting at a 45-degree angle against the pipe.

What we know:

First responders were called to rescue the driver and control the significant leak. As a precaution, officials evacuated nearby properties, including Fairview Elementary School (which was holding a teacher service day), a shopping center, a church, a daycare, and an animal hospital.

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Deputy Chief Dave Barlow said that favorable weather conditions, specifically a lack of wind, helped avert a potential disaster.

"Anytime you’re dealing with natural gas, obviously we’ve had experience with that in the county; it is a concern, but given the weather conditions were in our favor today, the gas plume was able to exit and go straight up, so crews initiated that evacuation distance to make things safe," Barlow said.

Officials found no gas readings inside any surrounding structures or houses, and no customers lost gas service as the impacted line was strictly a transmission pipe.

The evacuation orders have since been lifted, and Washington Gas crews are on site to repair the line.

Ongoing investigation

The driver was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Fairfax County Police crash reconstruction investigators are working to determine why the driver was traveling on the wrong side of the road. Officers were dispatched to the hospital while investigators on site documented the scene, which was captured by a Virginia Department of Transportation traffic camera. 

Police Major Ryan Lazisky said authorities are taking steps to methodically break down the scene to ensure it remains safe for crews fixing the pipe.

"Yeah, so the steps going forward are this investigation will take place," Lazisky said. "We have officers at the hospital right now; the officers here are documenting the scene. We’re going to slowly break this down because we want to make sure it’s safe for them to fix the pipe."

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