(Updated at 1:00 p.m.) A woman was struck by a car on Little Falls Road Friday night, in an accident eerily similar to one that claimed the life of an Arlington mother earlier this year.
The incident happened at 11:22 p.m. on the 6000 block of Little Falls Road, just a block or two from where the Feb. 24 crash occurred. Police say a woman was loading her small children into an SUV on the eastbound side of the road when a vehicle traveling eastbound swerved across the bike lane and struck the parked SUV, pushing it onto the sidewalk.
The woman, a 31-year-old Vienna resident, suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries, according to police. Her children, ages 6 months and 2 years old, were not injured.
The SUV was legally parked, noted police spokesman Lt. Kip Malcolm.
The striking vehicle came to rest in the eastbound lanes, after a 180 degree spin. The driver, identified as 54-year-old Arlington resident Susan Geigan, is currently free on bond after being charged with DUI, Malcolm said.
Geigan was not injured. Additional charges may be pending.
“It’s the holiday season and unfortunately we see more people taking the risk of getting behind the wheel while intoxicated,” said Malcolm.
The crash is improbably similar to the fatal accident on Feb. 24, which occurred just down the street. In that incident, a dump truck struck a woman on westbound Little Falls Road, across from Nottingham Elementary, as she was loading her young child into a minivan.
The victim later died. The driver of the dump truck was charged with a traffic infraction — alcohol was not a factor, police said. Another difference: there was no bike lane between traffic and parked cars on the stretch of Little Falls Road in front of the school.
Police are working with the county’s Dept. of Environmental Services on potential safety-enhancing changes to Little Falls Road, according to spokesman Lt. Kip Malcolm.