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A driver was hospitalized and charged with reckless driving after his sedan veered off Interstate 66, went airborne and landed on the Orange Line tracks in Dunn Loring on Wednesday, Feb. 11.

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue crews were dispatched at about 11:24 a.m. to the crash near the Cedar Lane bridge. The driver escaped from the sedan before firefighters helped him move away from the tracks.

The car contacted Metro’s electrified third rail, sparking a small fire near its rear that crews extinguished. The driver was taken to a hospital with injuries described as not life-threatening.

A preliminary Virginia State Police investigation found that the driver was traveling west in the I-66 Express Lanes when he reached down for his E-ZPass device and drifted off the left side of the highway.

The sedan struck snow and ice on the shoulder, which acted as a ramp, according to police. It then flew through a fence and came to rest on the Metro tracks between the Vienna and Dunn Loring stations.

State police said the investigation remained active but announced Wednesday afternoon that the driver had been charged with reckless driving.

The crash closed the westbound I-66 Express Lanes near the scene and suspended Orange Line trains between West Falls Church and Vienna. Metro initially directed riders to bus route F50 before arranging shuttle buses at the Vienna, Dunn Loring and West Falls Church stations.

Crews used a crane to begin lifting the sedan from the tracks shortly after 1 p.m. The vehicle was fully removed at approximately 1:30 p.m.

Orange Line service then resumed between West Falls Church and Vienna with trains temporarily sharing a single track. Regular service returned at about 2:30 p.m.

One westbound I-66 toll lane remained blocked as of 2 p.m. Metro said its intrusion-detection system alerted the rail command center to the damaged fence and obstruction.