An accident involving a school bus occurred on George Mason Drive at Arlington Boulevard (Route 50) around 3:15 this afternoon.
Two students were on board at the time. They were not injured, we hear.
No word on what caused the accident.
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(Updated at 1:20 p.m.) The back of Republican congressional candidate Patrick Murray’s campaign bus swiped a Jeep in Old Town Alexandria last night and drove off without leaving a note, a witness and the Jeep’s owner tell ARLnow.com.
The Murray campaign says the driver left a note. Alexandria Police say they’re investigating the accident as a hit and run, but also say that someone on the bus left a note.
The alleged incident happened while the bus was trying to turn from King Street onto Union Street around 7:00 last night, witness Jennifer Watkins said in a phone interview this morning. Watkins said the back of the bus loudly scraped against the side of the Jeep, briefly lifting it in the air.
Watkins estimated that about 30 people were within earshot of the accident. The bus was adorned with campaign signs, she said, and a Murray for Congress SUV preceded the bus down King Street with a megaphone blaring.
Watkins said the SUV later doubled back to inspect the damage, but left without anyone getting out of the vehicle. Afterward, Watkins and another witness left notes on the car to tell the owner what happened.
“To blatantly drive away with all these witnesses watching… we were in disbelief,” Watkins said. “We tried to give the benefit of the doubt that maybe they didn’t know that they did that, but when the guy came back around we were like… this is ridiculous.”
The Jeep’s owner, Barbara Reeder, says the campaign has not contacted her yet. She’s hoping to get the bus’s insurance information so she can get her car repaired.
“This is not a political issue,” Reeder said. “The only thing that concerns me is that it was a hit and run… I just want to make sure my car gets fixed.”
The incident is being investigated as a property damage hit and run, says Alexandria Police spokesperson Ashley Hildebrandt. She said that someone on the bus left a note. She was unable to say whether a traffic citation was or will be issued to the bus driver.
“We’ll handle it the same way” as any other accident involving a bus, Hildebrandt said.
In response to an ARLnow.com inquiry, a Murray campaign spokesperson disputes witness accounts that the bus driver did not leave a note on the Jeep. The campaign issued the following statement:
Tuesday night there may have been contact between the campaign bus we have contracted and a vehicle in Old Town Alexandria.
My preliminary information is the bus driver stopped, looked for damage and in the dark, apparently found none. Nonetheless, he left a message on the windshield of the impacted car.
Very late last night I was contacted by the Alexandria police investigating the incident. As the campaign was not the leasing agent, I had no information and informed the police we would inform the driver today that the police would like to talk to him today. We expect the situation will be fully resolved today.
There were no injuries and no hit and run. The bus is fully insured and any damages will be covered by the bus owner.
With just six days to go until the election, the accident is an unwelcome distraction for the Murray campaign. Murray was just beginning to enjoy some media traction thanks to controversial comments made by his Democratic opponent, Rep. Jim Moran.
The driver of a gray Jaguar, apparently fleeing after a collision in Courthouse, rear-ended a police cruiser two blocks away.
The police cruiser suffered minor damage as a result of the crash yesterday afternoon, on 14th Street near North Barton Street. The Jaguar had significant damage to its rear end — likely caused by the first accident.
No word on what charges the driver might face. So far, police have not confirmed any details surrounding the accident.
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Police are reporting a motor vehicle accident at the intersection of Fairfax Drive and Glebe Road in Ballston. At least one person — an occupant of one of the cars — was reported to be in need of medical assistance. The emergency response may be causing some traffic issues.
The intersection and its approaches have been the scene of two serious pedestrian accidents this month. One happened in a slip lane at the intersection. Another happened before the intersection on Fairfax Drive.
No pedestrians were hurt in this morning’s crash.
Update at 1:30 p.m. — Yet another accident happened on Fairfax Drive near the intersection with Glebe Road just before 1:00 this afternoon. At least two cars were hauled away from the scene on flatbed tow trucks. One injury was reported but not confirmed.
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A motorcyclist died after a violent collision with a car on Route 50 Friday night.
The accident occurred just after 9:00 p.m. at the intersection of Route 50 and Irving Street. The car, a Nissan, collided with the motorcycle in the intersection, police said. The motorcyclist was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The driver of the car remained on scene.
Police say the accident is under investigation. So far, no charges have been filed. The name of the motorcyclist is being withheld while police notify his next of kin.
The accident scene told the story of a horrific collision. Parts of the motorcycle were spread across the eastbound lanes of Route 50. The car’s front end was badly damaged, the airbags were deployed, and the front windshield was shattered. A single black leather cowboy-style boot lay upright near the side of the road.
The wreck shut down the eastbound lanes of Route 50 for several hours as investigators took photos and tried to figure out how the accident happened.
One man who lived nearby said he heard the accident from his house and walked to the scene to see what had happened. He said there have been at least three other accidents at the intersection in recent memory.
Update on 10/17: The driver is expected to be charged with DWI and manslaughter, sources tell ARLnow.com. The accident happened when the victim was heading eastbound and the suspect was turning from the westbound lanes, we’re told.
Police say they expect to release more information about the crash on Monday.
Update on 10/18: The suspect has been charged with manslaughter, and the victim has been identified. The possible DWI charge, mentioned above, has not materialized yet. But police tell us they’re still investigating whether alcohol could have played a factor in the accident.
From a police news release:
ARLINGTON, Va. – The Arlington County Police Department is investigating a fatal accident that occurred on Friday, October 15, 2010, at Arlington Boulevard (Route 50) and Irving Street. At approximately 9:09 P.M., a vehicle collided with a motorcycle in the intersection.
The driver of the motorcycle was transported to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He has been identified as Gerald Glasper, 42, of Arlington.
The striking vehicle remained on scene. Jonathan Mendez, 25, of Washington D.C. charged with Manslaughter later that evening. He was held at the Arlington County Detention Center without bond.
The accident is still under investigation. Arlington County Police ask that anyone who witnessed the accident or has information relating to this incident call Detective Tamara Celestini at (703) 228-4164.
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Remember back in May when a car came crashing into the front window of Rhodeside Grill? Well, it almost happened again.
A tipster sent us this photo of a two-car accident in front of the popular Wilson Boulevard hangout this morning.
“Glad the vehicle didn’t go through the window again, since the building’s exterior has recently gotten a facefilt (new paint, awnings),” our tipster writes. “But I’ll think twice about eating on the patio so close to this intersection!”
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Heavy rain is making for a slow go this morning. Nearly the entire length of northbound I-395 is slow, and multiple accidents have been reported.
One accident, seen above, is blocking a left-hand lane on southbound I-395. Another accident, now cleared, caused a car to flip over in the westbound lanes of the Roosevelt Bridge, blocking traffic heading toward Virginia from DC.
Update at 10:20 a.m. — A three-vehicle accident involving a tractor trailer has been reported on Route 110 near the Pentagon. No injuries have been reported, but the accident is causing major backups on Route 110.
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A motorcyclist was injured after wiping out on I-395 around 8:00 this morning.
The accident happened in the southbound HOV lanes of I-395. Police on the scene reported that the man had taken out at least one of the gates used to prevent traffic from going the wrong way on the combined HOV lanes.
The extent of the man’s injuries are unknown. A repair crew from VDOT has been dispatched to repair the gate.
The motorcycle was described as a black Harley-Davidson with a West Virginia license plate.
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(Updated at 1:50 p.m.) A two car collision sent a pedestrian to the hospital and knocked down a light pole near the entrance to I-66 on Fairfax Drive.
The crash apparently happened while one car was turning into the entrance to the Holiday Inn. The accident caused one car to slam into the light post, which fell over and hit a woman, a bystander told ARLnow.com. The woman was taken to the hospital. Her injuries are not believed to be life threatening.
A moped that was chained to the light post was also damaged.
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An accident between a BMW and a Mercedes currently has traffic at a near–standstill approaching the 14th Street Bridge on northbound I-395.
Emergency responders from Arlington and DC are on the scene. Only one lane is getting by.
There’s no word on injuries at this time.
Update at 6:25 p.m. — All lanes are now getting by.
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A pickup truck ran into the side of a Metro bus on South Glebe Road near the interchange with I-395, snarling rush hour traffic and sending at least two people to the hospital.
The accident happened at the intersection of South Glebe and West Glebe road around 4:30 this afternoon. Initial reports suggest two children in the truck were brought to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Arlington and Metro Transit Police are on the scene, as are Arlington firefighters and Metro supervisors.
Update at 5:25 p.m. — The bus has been moved to a side street, and a wrecker took away the pickup truck. One lane now getting by on southbound Glebe Road. There’s still some debris in the roadway which hasn’t been cleaned up and traffic is still a bit of a mess.
Update at 6:10 p.m. — A Metro spokesperson says there were no reported injuries on the bus.
More photos after the jump.