Two people were killed and two others were in the hospital after a crash involving an SUV and a taxi cab shut down the northbound side of the Fairfax County Parkway early Saturday morning.
Police say the accident happened at approximately 1:44 a.m. on the parkway at Wiehle Avenue in Herndon. Investigators say the 24-year-old driver of the SUV was driving south in the northbound lanes when he collided with the cab.
The two passengers in the taxi, identified as two men aged 29 and 34 years, were pronounced dead at the scene. The names of the men are being withheld pending notification of next of kin. The drivers of both vehicles were taken to a local hospital; their conditions were not immediately known. The cab driver was identified as a 47-year-old man.
Detectives say that two counts of aggravated involuntary manslaughter charges are pending against the driver of the SUV, Manuel Alejandro Jimenez Benitez of Herndon. Investigators are trying to determine whether speed and alcohol were factors in the crash.
The northbound lanes were reopened by police shortly before 8:30 a.m.
Stay with News4 and NBCWashington.com for the latest on this developing story.
Photo Credit: Derrick Ward