crash

I-395 HOV Lanes Blocked by Accident on Bridge

By ARLnow.com

Update at 4:45 p.m. — All lanes have reopened, according to WTOP.

The inbound (northbound) HOV lanes of I-395 are blocked over the Potomac River due to an accident.

The accident reportedly involves at least one overturned vehicle and two injuries. Arlington firefighters and medics are on the scene, though the accident is closer to the D.C. side of the river.

HOV traffic is at a standstill approaching the 14th Street Bridge. Drivers should use the mainline of I-395 as an alternative, avoiding the HOV lanes.

UPDATED: Suspect Steals ACPD Cruiser on I-66

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 3:20 p.m.) An Arlington County Police cruiser was stolen during a stop on I-66 today, leading to a police chase.

The incident started around noon when an officer in a marked ACPD cruiser stopped to assist Virginia State Police who had stopped a pedestrian on I-66 in Prince William County. A struggle ensued, the suspect struck the Arlington officer in the face and then hopped into the officer’s cruiser and sped off

Virginia State Police, Prince William County and Fairfax County police pursued the stolen cruiser, until the chase ended on I-66 at Cub Run, near the Prince William County/Fairfax County border.

The Arlington County officer whose cruiser was stolen received medical treatment for non-life threatening injuries..

From the Virginia State Police press release on the incident:

At 11:58 a.m., Virginia State Police Trooper C.T. Grzelak responded to a male pedestrian on Interstate 66 in the eastbound lanes at the 46 mile marker in Prince William County. As the trooper stopped out with the man, an Arlington County Police Officer pulled up to assist. Upon being approached by law enforcement, the male subject became combative and began banging on the trooper’s patrol car. As the trooper and officer tried to take the subject into custody, the pedestrian struck the Arlington officer in the face and then fled the scene in the officer’s patrol car.

The trooper then pursued the fleeing suspect. The pursuit continued off I-66 and onto Route 29 before returning to I-66 headed westbound. At the 47 mile marker in Fairfax County, State Police and Prince William County Police were able to encircle and contain the suspect vehicle and force it onto the shoulder where it finally came to a stop.

The suspect then ran from the stolen vehicle and jumped into the bed of a pickup truck that was stopped in the westbound lanes of I-66 (westbound traffic had stopped as the pursuit was brought to a conclusion). The male subject grabbed a shovel and started swinging it at the troopers as they approached him. He finally complied with the troopers’ verbal commands to drop the shovel, but then jumped out of the back of the pickup truck and climbed over the cement Jersey wall.

In the left shoulder of the eastbound lanes of I-66, the male subject still refused to be taken into custody and fought the trooper and sergeant during the course of the apprehension. Both the trooper and sergeant suffered minor injuries.

The male suspect was transported by Prince William County Police to the Prince William County Adult Detention Center. Charges are pending at this time.

The Arlington County Police Officer was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.

Stolen Pickup Truck Crashes into Park Fence

By ARLnow.com

A pickup truck that was reported stolen crashed into a fence in front of Hayes Park on Wednesday evening.

The incident happened just before 5:45 p.m., when police received a call for a truck that had crashed into a fence and a utility pole on the 1500 block of N. Lincon Street. The crash happened in front of Hayes Park and across from Arlington Science Focus school, in the Virginia Square neighborhood. The driver of the truck ran off after the accident, police were told.

After a short investigation officers determined that the truck’s owner had parked it with the keys still inside, and had just noticed that it was missing, according to police radio traffic. Police dogs were called in to try to track the suspect, but as of this morning there was no report of an arrest in the case.

Courtesy photo

I-395 Ramp Near Shirlington Blocked by Accident

By ARLnow.com

Police are blocking the ramp from northbound Glebe Road to southbound I-395 — and from southbound I-395 to Shirlington — due to an accident.

One person suffered a back injury as a result of the two-vehicle wreck, according to police radio traffic.

Cars that were stranded on the ramp as a result of the accident are being turned around by police. No word yet on how long the closure may last.

Road Closed After Truck Backs into Utility Pole

By ARLnow.com

A cement truck backed into a utility pole at the intersection of 16th Street N. and N. Buchanan Street this morning, knocking down power lines and forcing the extended closure of 16th Street.

The incident happened around 9:15 a.m., in the Waycroft-Woodlawn neighborhood. We’re told the cement truck was attempting to back up when it hit the pole, snapping it in two.

16th Street N. is expected to be closed for much of the day as crews from Dominion work to replace the broken poles and downed lines. The closure is several blocks from Virginia Hospital Center.

About 300 homes are expected to be without power until at least late afternoon, while repairs are underway.

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TRAFFIC ALERT — Glebe Road Shut Down Due to Accident

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 10:00 a.m.) Glebe Road was shut down in the area of 5th Street S. this morning due to a head-on collision between a car and a pickup truck

The accident happened just before 9:00 a.m., in front of Arlington Fire Station No. 1. Firefighters had to remove the top of the pickup truck to extricate the female driver, who was reported to be seriously injured. She was brought via ambulance to a local hospital. The driver of the car was reported to be alert and walking around after the accident.

Glebe Road was reopened to traffic around 10:00 a.m.

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UPDATED: Homeless Man Attacked in Cherrydale

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 5:45 p.m. on 4/9/12) A man has been arrested after a bizarre, alleged attack on a homeless man in Cherrydale on Sunday.

Police originally received a call around 2:00 a.m. for a fight in progress in the 2000 block of N. Kenmore Street, according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck.

The victim, a homeless man who had been living in his car in the neighborhood for the past five years, said an adult Asian male had jumped on his car and started attacking him. During the struggle, the suspect — who was drunk — was able to get into the driver’s seat of the car and hit the victim with the vehicle, according to Sternbeck. The suspect then started to drive off but wrecked the car 100 feet away. Undeterred, the suspect ran back at the victim to continue assaulting him.

At that point, Sternbeck said, the victim pulled out a pocket knife and stabbed his attacker in the chest. The suspect ran off and, after arriving at the scene of the fight, police called in a helicopter to search for him. The suspect was not initially located by police but, later, a woman called police to report her boyfriend missing. The boyfriend matched the description of the suspect, and police were then able to locate the suspect in his residence, suffering from a serious chest wound, according to Sternbeck.

The suspect, identified by police as 24-year-old Andrew Lee of North Carolina, was taken to a local hospital for treatment. After an investigation, Lee was charged Monday with attempted malicious wounding and unauthorized use of a vehicle. He’s currently being held without bond at the Arlington County jail. The motive for the attack is unknown at this time, Sternbeck said.

The victim did not require transport to the hospital, according to Sternbeck.

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Crash on Memorial Circle Following Car Chase

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 12:15 a.m.) An SUV crashed and rolled over several times while trying to navigate around Memorial Circle during a car chase this afternoon.

The car chase started in Tysons Corner, when Fairfax County began pursuing a vehicle after a reported grand larceny, according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck. The chase took pursuing officers onto the George Washington Parkway, into the District and into Arlington National Cemetery, before ending in the wreck on Memorial Circle, according to television news reports.

A large contingent of Arlington fire trucks and medic units were dispatched to the scene of the crash, to treat six people injured in the SUV. A photo posted to Twitter depicts the SUV with severe front-end damage on a grassy area just off the circle.

Among the law enforcement agencies that played a role in the chase were Fairfax County Police, U.S. Park Police and Virginia State Police. Arlington County Police were not involved in the chase and only played a traffic control role following the accident.

Around 4:30 p.m., Metro reported that as a result of the accident, 7Y buses toward Federal Triangle were experiencing delays of 20-25 minutes due traffic on the Memorial Bridge.

Photo courtesy @CAPT258

Shirlington I-395 Ramp Blocked by Accident

By ARLnow.com

Update at 10:40 a.m. — The Shirlington ramp has reopened and only the far righthand lane of I-395 remains blocked before the ramp.

Update at 9:30 a.m. — All but one northbound lane is now blocked.

The ramp from Shirlington circle to northbound I-395 is blocked due to an accident.

A U-Haul truck and at least one other vehicle was involved in the accident along the northbound lanes of I-395. The vehicles ended up on the ramp, which is now completely blocked by emergency crews. One northbound lane is also blocked.

At least one injury has been reported as a result of the accident. Police are now directing the drivers stranded on the ramp to turn around and find an alternate route to the highway.

Car Crashes into Front Porch of Apartment Building

By ARLnow.com

(Update at 7:10 p.m.) A woman somehow drove her car onto the front porch of an apartment building in the Columbia Heights West neighborhood this afternoon.

The accident happened at the corner of 8th Road S. and S. Emerson Street. A witness tells ARLnow.com that the driver was trying to back into a street parking spot when she lost control, hit the front of a Honda, drove in a U-turn in the front yard of the building and came to rest on the front porch. In the process, the woman’s car took out one of the porch’s columns.

We’re told the small, three-story apartment building is currently vacant.

The woman did not appear injured, though her car suffered significant damage to the drivers side. Firefighters from Fairfax County managed to drive the car off the front porch and into a nearby parking lot.

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Road Closed Due to Serious Accident

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 11:00 p.m.) S. Carlin Springs Road was closed between 5th Street and 7th Road tonight due to a serious accident between a Jeep and a moped.

Around 8:00 p.m., the Jeep driver was trying to make a left turn onto 6th Road when the SUV and the moped collided, according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck. Officers arrived on the scene and found the moped rider, an adult male, lying on the ground. He was taken to a local hospital via ambulance with what were thought to be critical injuries.

According to Sternbeck, the man had a high level of alcohol in his system. He’s expected to recover from his injuries. The female driver of the Jeep remained on scene following the collision, Sternbeck said.

Carlin Springs Road was shut down for an extended period of time while police conducted an accident investigation.

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