crash | ARLnow.com

BREAKING: Fire Dept. Truck Rear-Ended After Ferrari Crash, Fire on GW Parkway

Published November 1, 2013 at 11:20AM | Updated July 11, 2017 at 4:36PM

Courtesy @Chief288

(Updated at 11:40 a.m.) A Ferrari crashed and caught fire on the GW Parkway this morning, prompting an emergency response that then led to an accident involving a fire department vehicle.

The first wreck happened around 9:30 a.m., in the southbound lanes of the GW Parkway under I-66, according to Arlington County Fire Department spokeswoman Lt. Sarah Marchegiani.

The Ferrari lost control on the rain-slicked road and struck the bridge, coming to rest on the side of the parkway. The Ferrari then caught fire, quickly becoming fully engulfed before the flames were extinguished by firefighters. The driver was uninjured, according to Marchegiani.

Just past 10:30 a.m., a pickup truck rear-ended an Arlington County Fire Marshal’s truck that was stopped in the northbound lanes of the GW Parkway, adjacent to the first wreck. A third vehicle was also hit but no injuries were reported, Marchegiani said.

The dual wrecks shut down lanes and caused major backups for GW Parkway commuters. Two trucks are currently on scene to haul away the vehicles involved.

Video (above) courtesy David Johnson. Photos (below) courtesy @Chief288.

TRAFFIC ALERT: WB Rt. 50 Blocked by Accident

By ARLnow.com

Published October 30, 2013 at 5:15PM | Updated July 11, 2017 at 4:38PM

(Updated at 5:50 p.m.) The westbound lanes of Route 50 were blocked during Wednesday night’s rush hour due to an overturned vehicle.

The accident occurred at the intersection with Park Drive, near the Arlington Forest Shopping Center. Initial reports suggest an SUV was heading westbound on Route 50 when it hit a median, ran into a pedestrian crossing signal, clipped a van and flipped on its roof. Firefighters had to use the Jaws of Life to free a person who was trapped in the overturned vehicle.

The person freed from the vehicle was transported to the trauma center at Inova Fairfax Hospital.

As of 5:40 p.m. one westbound lane of Route 50 had reopened, but outbound traffic was very heavy due.

Taxi Drives Into Ballston Light Pole

By Ethan Rothstein

Published October 18, 2013 at 11:45AM

A Blue Top Cab driver drove his taxi into a light pole this morning (Friday) in Ballston.

The driver struck the concrete pole at about 10:45 a.m. on Fairfax Drive at the intersection with N. Quincy Street. The pole broke in half and shattered onto the street.

There were no passengers in the car, according to police, and the driver was up and talking to the responding officers. The traffic signal at the intersection was still operational and traffic wasn’t impeded.

Fatal Accident on Memorial Circle

By ARLnow.com

Published October 11, 2013 at 8:10AM | Updated December 4, 2013 at 1:21PM

(Updated on 12/4/13) A woman died early this morning in a single-vehicle accident on Memorial Circle.

The fatal crash happened at about 1:20 a.m. A vehicle was heading outbound on the Memorial Bridge when it “lost control and overturned for unknown reasons” at Memorial Circle, according to U.S. Park Police. The deceased was identified by police as 36-year-old Katharine Jane Rahim of Reston.

“One vehicle was involved and the sole occupant, an adult female died at the scene,” police said. The bridge and the circle were closed for several hours this morning for an accident investigation.

Collision Blocking Two Lanes of I-395

By Ethan Rothstein

Published October 8, 2013 at 12:35PM

Accident at I-395 and Glebe Road

A crash involving multiple vehicles is blocking two lanes of traffic on northbound I-395 near the Glebe Road interchange.

The crash occurred just after 12:10 p.m. today (Tuesday), and traffic cameras show at least two vehicles that appear to be involved in the collision.

As of 12:30 p.m. police and fire department personnel were on the scene and had shut down the two left lanes of NB I-395. No word yet on any injuries.

Crime Report: Drunk Man Crashes Car Into Fire Station

By Ethan Rothstein

Published September 25, 2013 at 4:30PM | Updated January 9, 2018 at 3:46PM

A Falls Church man crashed his car into Arlington’s Fire Station No. 9 earlier this week.

Yancy Carrera, 33, drove into the corner of the fire house at 4:05 a.m. Sunday morning, according to police. He was arrested charged with DUI and felony destruction of property.

A fire department official said no one was injured in the crash, which caused only cosmetic damage to the building. So far, there is no estimate on the cost of the repairs.

From this week’s Arlington County crime report:

FELONY DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY, 09/22/13, 1900 block of S. Walter Reed Drive. At 4:05 am, an intoxicated subject drove his vehicle into the corner of Fire Station #9. Yancy Carrera, 35, of Falls Church, VA, was arrested and charged with DUI and felony destruction of property. He was held with no bond.

The rest of the crime report, after the jump. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

(more…)

Car Smashes into Personal Training Studio

By Ethan Rothstein

Published September 16, 2013 at 2:35PM

Car crashes into personal training studio

A car smashed into the Health and Wholeness Personal Training Studio (2444 26th Road S.) near Shirlington on Saturday afternoon.

According to Health and Wholeness owner Nina Elliot, it’s at least the third time her building, which is at the corner of 26th Road and S. Glebe Road, has been struck by a car. Close to five years ago, before her business moved in, her leasing office said it was rammed in a similar way. Elliot said a firefighter at the scene told her another car crashed into it more than a decade ago.

“It’s dangerous for several reasons,” Elliot said. “Cars can’t turn from I-395 straight into the intersection. Buses will make a turn and constantly clip the curb. People are constantly getting pulled over for not coming to a complete stop. Cars will crash into a different curb, and when the sun sets you can’t see the signal.”

No one was in the studio when the crash occurred, Elliot said, counting herself lucky considering the car plowed right into an area of the studio in which her young son typically hangs out. The crash left the studio without a window and with several pieces of equipment destroyed or damaged.

“There needs to be some sort of barricade,” Elliot said. “We’re going to try to push for that.”

The driver of the car was taken to the hospital but a passenger turned down hospitalization, said Elliot. The studio was cleaned and boarded up and reopened for business the following day.

Photos via Facebook

Collision Cuts Power at Washington Blvd Intersection

By Ethan Rothstein

Published September 16, 2013 at 12:30PM

Crash takes out signal at Washington Blvd and N. Kirkwood Road

A two-vehicle collision has destroyed the traffic control box at the intersection of Washington Blvd and N. Kirkwood Road, near Clarendon, cutting off power to the intersection’s traffic signal.

The t-bone crash happened at about 10:45 a.m. The driver of one car was transported to the hospital with minor injuries, a police officer at the scene said. A passenger in that vehicle and the driver of the other car involved were relatively unharmed.

As a result of the traffic signal outage, Arlington County police have set up cones in the intersection, diverting all southbound Kirkwood Road traffic to a right turn on Washington Blvd and preventing left turns in either direction on Washington Blvd.

Arlington County workers, after inspecting the damage to the power box, said it would take “all day, maybe until tomorrow” to repair. We’re told that they hope to restore at least some functionality in time for rush hour, perhaps finishing repairs on Tuesday.

Reduction in Crashes Near ACPD Sign

By Katie Pyzyk

Published September 11, 2013 at 11:00AM | Updated July 11, 2017 at 4:38PM

The electronic sign the Arlington County Police Department stationed at Washington Blvd and Route 50 with the seemingly obvious message “don’t hit the car in front of you” may have accomplished its intended goal. ACPD reports a reduction in accidents at the intersection.

The department targeted that particular area with an electronic message due to the high number of crashes there. It was the county’s top area for accidents during the second quarter of 2013. After the sign went up, however, the department saw a change.

“It appears the sign worked because there was a sharp decrease in accidents from July to August,” said ACPD spokesman Dustin Sternbeck.

The sign went up in early July, and from then until today (September 11), police have only responded to two accidents. That’s down from about 15 during the second quarter.

The department believes the simplicity of the sign’s message may be what caused drivers to take notice and heed the warning. Despite the large amount of attention it received, the message did not produce any complaints to police.

The electronic sign is one of four ACPD owns, all of which are mounted on trailers so they can be easily moved around the county. The signs are rotated on a regular basis; messages typically remain for about two months, unless they show a short term alert such as a special event or one-time road closure. This specific sign was changed a few days after ARLnow.com ran the story last month.

SUV Overturns in Cherrydale

By Ethan Rothstein

Published July 31, 2013 at 10:30AM

An SUV overturned as a result of a collision at the intersection of N. Randolph and 21st Streets Wednesday morning.

Neither the driver of the SUV nor the driver of the white sedan with which it collided were injured in the crash, which occurred around 9:00 a.m. The SUV ended up on its roof on N. Randolph Street, but traffic on the small, residential street was able to drive around the damaged cars.

The driver of the SUV — which was heading uphill at the time of the wreck — said he didn’t see the stop sign at the intersection, which is partly obscured by a power line pole.

“The next thing I knew it was airborne,” he told ARLnow.com. “I have no idea how it flipped.”

The driver was able to exit the overturned vehicle via the passenger-side door.

Residents of the Cherrydale neighborhood came to the scene after the wreck, and one witness who saw the crash said she had sent complaints to the county about the stop sign before. A similar accident happened in the same place nine months ago, the woman, who asked not to be identified, said.

“They’ve got to fix the stop sign,” she said. “This is not a safe corner.”

Driver Apprehended After Hit and Run Near DMV

By ARLnow.com

Published July 22, 2013 at 5:10PM

A suspect is in custody after a hit-and-run accident near the Department of Motor Vehicles office on S. Four Mile Run Drive.

A witness told ARLnow.com that the driver of a Nissan was trying to turn into the DMV parking lot from the westbound lanes of Four Mile Run Drive when the car was struck by a truck heading eastbound.

The driver of one of the vehicles fled the scene on foot after the accident, according to Arlington Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck. The other driver was injured and transported to the hospital.

A police K-9 officer was brought in to track the fleeing driver. The dog picked up the scent and led officers to nearby Wakefield High School. The suspect was located and arrested behind the school, Sternbeck said.

Sternbeck was unable to confirm which vehicle belongs to the fleeing driver, who’s expected to be charged with hit and run.

Photos courtesy Brian Kee