(Updated at 1:15 p.m.) A man has been badly injured after jumping off a bridge while running from Arlington County police.
The incident happened around 11 p.m. Tuesday on Shirlington Road, between the Shirlington and Nauck neighborhoods
The man was pulled over after being spotted driving recklessly on I-395, weaving in and out of traffic and driving on the shoulder at an excess rate of speed, according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck. He exited the highway at Shirlington and pulled into an Exxon parking lot.
After stopping the car, the man got out and started running, shouting that officers would have to shoot him to stop him, Sternbeck said. While fleeing he jumped from the Shirlington Road bridge over Four Mile Run and fell onto rocks some 20 feet below.
The man was still breathing but was bleeding profusely from a “severe head injury” in which brain matter could be seen, according to scanner reports. He was transported to the trauma center at George Washington University hospital.
The car the man was driving was reported to be a rental car. Police say he was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident.
No word yet on the man’s identity, but police said he is 37 years old and from Fort Washington, Maryland. He’s currently listed in critical condition, clinging to life but unresponsive, we hear.
The Shirlington Road bridge was closed in both directions for a period of time while investigators documented the scene.