Mary Jane Treacy, 72, killed and Thomas M. Treacy, 78, injured in three vehicle car crash on May 7

A 72-year-old woman from South Carolina was killed Tuesday in a three-vehicle crash at the northbound entrance to the 495 Express Lanes on the Capital Beltway in Springfield, Virginia state police said.

According to the police account, the minivan she was driving braked suddenly at the toll lanes entrance on the left side of the Beltway’s inner loop. A Jeep behind the minivan swerved and was able to avoid colliding with it, but a Mercedes sedan wasn’t able to stop and hit the back of the minivan. The impact spun the minivan around, and it struck the Jeep. The Mercedes struck the concrete barrier on the left side of the express lanes and caught fire.

The crash occurred shortly before 3:44 p.m. Tuesday, when state police were called to the scene. The driver, Mary Jane Treacy, of Bluffton, S.C., and her husband, Thomas M. Treacy, 78, were taken to Fairfax Inova Hospital. She died a short time later. He was treated for his injuries, which police said were serious but not life-threatening.

The drivers of the Jeep and the Mercedes also were taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries that were not life-threatening, police said.