The Clarendon Whole Foods wall, during happier times (via YouTube)
A portion of the low brick wall outside of the Clarendon Whole Foods was smashed by a shopper who apparently mistook the gas pedal for the brake.
The incident happened recently on the N. Edgewood Street side of the store’s surface parking lot. We’re told the shopper was either trying to park to trying to exit the parking space, but ended up hopping the curb and slamming into the wall instead, knocking over a large section of bricks.
(None of the cars pictured were involved in the accident.)
No injuries were reported. The smashed section of wall is now cordoned off by yellow caution tape.
A runaway Arlington Transit bus rolled downhill and smashed into at least four parked cars and a motorcycle early this afternoon.
The crash happened around 12:30 p.m. on the 800 block of S. Greenbrier Street, in the Arlington Mill neighborhood near Columbia Pike.
A preliminary report suggests the bus’ brakes failed, leading to the big crash, but that has not been confirmed yet, said Arlington County Police spokeswoman Ashley Savage. Investigators remain on scene and the road is closed.
The force of the collision flipped one car on its side and pushed another across the adjacent sidewalk. Luckily, no injuries were reported and no passengers were on the bus at the time of the crash, Savage said.
**UPDATE** 800 S. Greenbrier Street reopening after earlier crash.
Tiffany Joslyn, an attorney and Arlington resident, was killed in a car crash in Rhode Island on Saturday.
Joslyn, 33, and her 28-year-old brother, Derrick, were killed after a car driven by Derrick’s wife was reportedly sideswiped on I-95 near the city of Pawtucket. The initial collision caused the Joslyns’ car to lose control, strike the center median and roll onto its roof. It was then struck by a van, reported TV station WPRI.
Tiffany is being remembered as a strong advocate for progressive and LGBT causes. She was on the board of local LGBT group AGLA, was a past president of the LGBT Democrats of Virginia PAC, and was active in the Arlington Young Democrats and the Arlington County Democratic Committee.
“Tiffany was an incredible advocate for progressive candidates,” wrote Democratic activist Ben Tribbett, “even though she didn’t always like the politics because she really cared about the issue outcomes and the real impact policy has on people’s lives.”
We could go on and on about how Tiffany Joslyn touched Arlington and Virginia. We encourage you to share your stories and memories with us.
— Arlington Democrats (@arlingtondems) March 7, 2016
Joslyn’s name could often be found among the list of endorsements for local candidates. Among the candidates for elected office she endorsed were former Delegate Rob Krupicka, former state Senate candidate Jaime Areizaga-Soto and Arlington County Board member John Vihstadt.
Professionally, Joslyn worked as a deputy chief counsel for a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee.
A friend of Joslyn’s, Stephanie Clifford, has created a GoFundMe campaign to help raise money for her family and for her cat. The cat was injured in the crash and may need to have her leg amputated, Clifford wrote. So far, nearly $6,000 has been raised.
Below is a video of Joslyn speaking about LGBT causes at County Board member Jay Fisette’s house in 2011. The video was originally published by the Blue Virginia blog.
“At the end of day we are partisans,” Joslyn told the gathered crowd, “but equality is a non-partisan matter.”
Firefighters used heavy machinery to rescue a woman from her car after a wreck near Shirlington Circle this morning.
The two-car crash happened around 8:30 a.m, on the ramp from Quaker Lane to Shirlington Circle, near the Fairlington neighborhood. A Toyota SUV collided with a Buick sedan, trapping the Buick driver inside her car.
It took Arlington County rescuers about a half hour to free the woman from the wreckage. She was transported via ambulance to a nearby hospital.
Quaker Lane remains blocked in each direction in the area of Shirlington Circle while debris from the crash is cleared.
Virginia State Police are investigating a serious single-vehicle crash on I-66 near East Falls Church.
The wreck happened early this afternoon in the westbound lanes near the Sycamore Street exit. Photos show a dark gray sedan with heavy front-end damage on the side of the road, next to a crumpled-up guardrail.
One lane is blocked and westbound traffic is backed up to Glebe Road. Drivers should also expect delays approaching the crash in the eastbound lanes.
“Seek alternative routes,” Arlington County Police said, in a tweet.
Part of S. Kenmore Street is temporarily closed to traffic due to a flipped vehicle.
The crash happened around 3:30 p.m. near the Mt. Zion Baptist Church. Initial reports suggest a driver in a blue Ford Mustang convertible lost control of the vehicle and slammed into a parked pickup truck.
The convertible flipped on its roof in the middle of the street. The man who was driving was reported to be bleeding from his forehead and was transported to a local hospital.
It’s unclear how exactly the crash happened. The parked pickup truck wound up perpendicular to the street, with its drive shaft partially detached and resting on the ground. The owners of the truck, apparently nearby residents, came out with a wheelbarrow to remove items from the pickup’s bed.
Arlington County Police are investigating the crash and documenting the scene before the car is towed away. Kenmore Street is closed between 19th and 22nd streets.
For the second day in a row, a significant crash has occurred on southbound I-395 near the Washington Blvd/Arlington Ridge Road ramp.
A pickup truck and a van collided, initially trapping one of the drivers in his or her vehicle, according to scanner traffic. The driver was quickly freed by first responders and no serious injuries were reported.
Yesterday a vehicle overturned as a result of a crash in nearly the same location. In 2011, at least five crashes occurred in the same general area — a curvy stretch of southbound I-395 — during rainy weather.
A car slammed into a low stone wall outside of a home at the corner of N. Harrison Street and 26th Street N. this afternoon.
The single-vehicle crash happened around 1:30 p.m., not far from the Lee-Harrison shopping center and Yorktown High School.
An adult male driver was the only occupant inside the car, a gray Oldsmobile, when emergency crews arrived. He was reported to be semi-conscious after the crash and not responding to police commands. A fire department rescue squad was dispatched to the scene to remove the man from the car.
The driver was transported to Virginia Hospital Center for evaluation. The cause of the crash and the cause of the driver’s semi-conscious state is still under investigation, a police spokeswoman said.
A large portion of the wall and some shrubbery was destroyed by the crash, but no other injuries were reported.
(Updated at 1:40 p.m.) A woman has died following a crash in the Market Common Clarendon parking garage, which serves Whole Foods customers.
The crash happened around 4 p.m., in the underground garage at 2700 Clarendon Blvd.
A woman in a gray Honda station wagon suffered some sort of a medical emergency while trying to exit the parking garage. After pulling up to the gate, she suddenly started going in reverse at a high rate of speed, then started driving forward again, according to a police spokesman. She struck at least 3-4 other vehicles before crashing into a concrete pillar.
The woman was in cardiac arrest and bleeding from her head while being treated by medics, according to scanner traffic and witness accounts. She was transported via ambulance to a local hospital. A second injured person, believed to be the driver of one of the cars that was struck, was also transported to the hospital.
A small crowd gathered in the garage while police photographed the scene and firefighters cleaned up a trail of blood on the concrete. One witness said the woman had just finished shopping at Whole Foods minutes before the accident.
As of 4:45 p.m., the garage entrance was closed and a portion of the parking area was roped off by crime scene tape.
Shortest Day of the Year — Today is the shortest day of the year. The sun will be up just 9 hours and 26 minutes today, so enjoy the daylight while it lasts. Tonight is the winter solstice. [Capital Weather Gang]
Two Big Crystal City Projects on Hold — Two projects to replace aging office buildings in Crystal City are on hold due to high office vacancy in the region. Vornado was planning to replace 1851 S. Bell Street with what would have been the tallest building in Crystal City and the largest private office building in Arlington. The company was also planning to replace 223 23rd Street S. with an office and a residential tower. Those have both reportedly been shelved due to market conditions. [Washington Business Journal]
Police Play Cornhole With Bar Crawlers — Nearly 2,000 people flocked to Clarendon on Saturday for the inaugural Candy Cane Crawl, a holiday-themed bar crawl. Arlington County Police used the occasion to educate bar-goers about the dangers of drunk driving, by having people try to play cornhole while wearing “drunk goggles.” [WUSA 9]
Mary Slye Obituary — Mary Patricia Slye, who managed Robert Slye Electronics on Washington Blvd in Virginia Square, died last month of a heart attack at the age of 65. Slye was an Arlington resident and began working at the audio visual installation business in the mid-1980s. [Washington Post]
Vehicle Topples Light Pole on Washington Blvd — A vehicle struck a light pole near the intersection of Washington Blvd and N. Pershing Drive on Saturday, sending it toppling across the street. Luckily, no one was hurt. Eastbound traffic on Washington Blvd was blocked for about 15 minutes. [Twitter]
GMU Grad Hopes to Run for Arlington School Board — A newly-minted George Mason University grad has a specific and somewhat uncommon career goal for someone her age: Marlayna Bush says she wants to run for the Arlington School Board in 2018. She just received her BA in conflict analysis and resolution. [George Mason University]
