A series of chain-reaction crashes -- involving five cars, a tractor-trailer and a motorcycle - clogged the northbound lanes of I-95 Wednesday, seriously injuring the motorcyclist and causing lengthy traffic delays.
The first crash happened at 5:45 a.m. near the Quantico exit in Stafford County. Traffic had slowed to a stop on the roadway, but a 2007 Chrysler station wagon failed to stop for the congestion in time. That car rear-ended a 2012 Honda.
A 2009 Harley-Davidson motorcycle then rear-ended the Chrysler station wagon.
The motorcyclist was thrown from his bike and hit a northbound tractor trailer. His bike slid into another northbound lane.
Then a three-car chain-reaction crash occurred in the northbound lanes as drivers struggled to avoid the crashed motorcycle.
The motorcyclist suffered life-threatening injuries and have to be evacuated on a medical helicopter. The road was briefly closed, and though it was reopened by 7 a.m. traffic backups lingered well into the morning.
The driver of the Chrysler station wagon, Sandra T. Wilson, 47, of Ruther Glen, Va., was charged with following too closely.
This crash followed the death of a motorcyclist Tuesday after a collision with a tractor-trailer. Police are still seeking the driver of a tractor-trailer in that crash.
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