CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Police are investigating a deadly crash between a car and a tractor-trailer.
The collision happened after 4 a.m. Friday on U.S. Highway 58 in Chesapeake, near an Exxon gas station. It backed up traffic for miles on the highway, secondary roads and in Suffolk, too. Teams also responded to clean up spilled diesel fuel on the road.
Westbound lanes on U.S. 58 re-opened at around 7 a.m. and all eastbound lanes re-opened before noon, according to the Chesapeake Police Department.
Investigators said a man driving a sedan heading east on 58 crashed into a tractor-trailer that was attempting to U-turn from the westbound lanes.
Officers said they found the driver of the sedan, identified as 64-year-old Cecil Freeman of Corapeake, North Carolina, dead.
"It's sad because one life lost out here is one too many," Suffolk resident Jennifer Shrader said.
Tammy Robinson of Chesapeake also expressed her sadness over the crash. "I've been in an accident myself before and it could've happened to me," she said.
Robinson had just finished her overnight shift when she got caught in the traffic.
"I've been riding since 7:15 stuck just in traffic," said Robinson, who we spoke with before 11 a.m.
She tried taking backroads, but she ended up on the main road again.
"All the way around, the traffic was backed up," said Robinson.
Deadly Chesapeake tractor-trailer crash leads to hazmat cleanup
During the crash, investigators found the fuel tank of the tractor-trailer ruptured. Diesel spilled on the eastbound lanes.
It took contractors several hours to clean up, but a Chesapeake fire captain told 13News Now they have no hazard concerns.
However, multiple drivers told us they have traffic-related concerns when it comes to U.S. 58.
"It's bad. There's accidents all the time between tractor-trailers and cars," said Shrader, who used to live near Friday's crash site.
Shrader thinks it's dangerous for trucks to use the cut-through lanes in the middle of the highway.
"There's no use for a tractor-trailer to try to be turning here," she said. "I'm not sure how long the [tractor-trailer] is, but there's not enough room to make a U-turn. So, this is senseless. This needs to stop," said Shrader.
Nearby the U.S. 58 crash, Chesapeake police said a tractor-trailer got caught in a ditch on Sondej Avenue as a driver tried to navigate around.
And in Suffolk, a city spokesperson said an overturned dump truck blocked traffic on Godwin Boulevard Friday morning, which added to the morning congestion.
All three scenes cleared by the afternoon.
13News Now asked whether Chesapeake police cited the driver of the tractor-trailer involved in the U.S. 58 crash.
The entire incident is still under investigation and there are no charges at this time, a detective said.
You can go to 13News Now's live traffic map for information on current road conditions.