Route 50 was temporarily blocked at Fillmore Street during the evening rush after multiple crashes that might have been the result of an attempted hit-and-run by an impatient driver.
It started with a crash near the intersection of S. Fillmore Street and 2nd Street S. around 5:15 p.m. A resident who lives near the intersection described what happened, in an account that matched police radio traffic.
“A car attempted to pass another car on [a] narrow street [with a] cop coming the other way,” said the resident, Casey Phillips. The driver “tried to go between the two cars and hit a pregnant lady driving an SUV. Then [the] vehicle fled and wound up causing [a] much larger accident at the intersection of Fillmore and 50.”
At least four vehicles were damaged in the crashes, including the Toyota sedan driven by the suspected hit-and-run driver. Another witness, who spoke to police and to ARLnow.com, said the man tried to push through traffic at Route 50 and Fillmore and almost struck his van, as well.
The suspect was stopped just north of the intersection and handcuffed, reportedly by the officer whose cruiser was nearly involved in the first crash. An Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman could not immediately confirm whether he was arrested and will face charges.
The spokeswoman said that one person — understood to be the pregnant woman whose vehicle was struck near 2nd Street S. — was transported to Virginia Hospital Center with non-life-threatening injuries.
While the Route 50 closure lasted only a few minutes, N. Fillmore Street was blocked between Route 50 and 1st Street N. for at least an hour while multiple tow crews worked to haul away some of the vehicles involved in the incident.
Update at 4:55 p.m. — The driver, a 27-year-old Alexandria resident, was arrested and is facing multiple charges. From an Arlington County Police Department crime report:
ATTEMPTED MALICIOUS WOUNDING OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER, 2017-02150218, Arlington Boulevard at N. Fillmore Street. At approximately 5:15 p.m. on February 15, an officer on routine patrol was driving south in the 200 block of S. Fillmore Street when a vehicle crossed the double yellow line and allegedly attempted to strike the marked patrol vehicle. The officer was able to avoid the collision and activated his emergency lights in an attempt to stop the vehicle. The suspect vehicle continued on, striking a vehicle traveling northbound. The suspect vehicle continued to drive north on S. Fillmore Street and entered the intersection with Arlington Boulevard against a red light. The suspect vehicle then struck two other vehicles. The officer was then able to stop the vehicle and take the driver into custody without further incident. Sulaiman Kanu, 27, of Alexandria Va, was arrested and charged with Attempted Malicious Wounding of a Law Enforcement Officer and Attempted Malicious Wounding (3 X). He is being held without bond. One victim was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.