hit and run

ACPD Seeking Information on Hit-and-Run Truck

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County Police think that a delivery truck may have been the vehicle that struck and killed 23-year-old Zorigoo Munkhbayar on Friday.

Munkhbayar was walking on Route 50 early Friday morning when he was struck by a vehicle near the N. Rhodes Street ramp. By the time someone saw Munkhbayar’s body laying in the roadway and called police, the Arlington resident was already dead.

Today police revealed that they believe a 2005-2007 Mitsubishi delivery truck was the striking vehicle. Police say the truck “would have noticeable damage to the front passenger side and passenger side grill/headlight.”

Investigators are asking for the public’s help in solving the crime.

“Police ask that anyone who may have seen a man walking on eastbound Route 50, or witnessed the accident, contact Detective Paul Marseilles at (703) 228-4237,” police said in a statement. “Detective Marseilles can also be reached via e-mail at [email protected].”

The above photo, provided by the Arlington County Police Department, shows a truck similar to the model suspected of hitting Munkhbayar. See more photos here.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Candlelight Vigil for Hit and Run Victim — Friends of Zorigoo Munkhbayar gathered on the Rhodes Street Bridge Sunday night to mourn the 23-year-old’s tragic death. Munkhbayar was hit by a car — which then fled the scene — as he was walking down Route 50 early Friday morning. [Ode Street Tribune]

Residents Still Waiting for Promised Traffic Lights — Some residents are asking: Why haven’t traffic lights been installed at the intersections of N. Qunicy Street and 9th Street and Wilson Blvd and N. Pollard Street? After all, Arlington County has already collected tens of thousands of dollars from developers with the express purpose of installing traffic lights at the intersections. [Sun Gazette]

Clarendon Urgent Care Center Opens — Mid Atlantic Urgent Care opens today at 3301 Wilson Boulevard in Clarendon. The seven-day-a-week medical office encourages walk-in visits from patients with non-life-threatening illnesses or injuries. [Mid Atlantic Urgent Care]

Disclosure: Mid Atlantic Urgent Care is an ARLnow.com advertiser.

Flickr pool photo by BrianMKA

Fatal Hit and Run on Route 50

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 8:30 a.m.) A 23-year-old man died early this morning after being struck by a car on Route 50 near Rhodes Street.

Police spokeswoman Det. Crystal Nosal says the victim, Arlington resident Zorigoo Munkhbayar, was walking on Route 50 in the Courthouse area for reasons unknown this morning. Around 3:00 a.m., a car struck Munkhbayar and fled the scene, according to police, who were called when a passerby spotted the man’s body.

Police shut down eastbound Route 50 from Washington Boulevard to Rhodes Street to conduct an accident investigation. The road just reopened, but not before causing a major headache for commuters who had to seek an alternate route to the District for much of the morning rush hour.

On Facebook, a man named Zorigoo Munkhbayar is listed as a 2008 Yorktown High School grad, but so far police have not been able to confirm any details about the victim. Police are also not providing a description of the striking vehicle at this time.

Police Investigate Reported ART Bus Hit and Run

By ARLnow.com

Police are investigating a possible hit and run involving an Arlington Transit bus.

A driver told police that an ART bus hit his driver’s side door near the intersection of S. Courthouse Road and 2nd Street, then continued on its way. No injuries were reported.

Police arrived to interview the driver and take photos of the car. A representative from Forsythe Transportation, which contracts with the county to run the ART bus fleet, also arrived and talked to police. Later, a passerby told ARLnow.com that a No. 42 ART bus was offloaded at S. Courthouse and 2nd Street as police inspected it.

Earlier this summer Forsythe fired a number of striking ART bus drivers and went on a hiring spree to quickly replace them. We’re awaiting comment from the county’s Department of Environmental Services, which is responsible for the county’s transit services.

Update at 10:45 a.m. — The ART web site reports that all buses going through S. Courthouse Road are “late due to… police activity.”

Police Investigate Hit and Run Near Hospital

By ARLnow.com

A hit and run accident sent three people to the hospital this morning.

The accident happened around lunch time on George Mason Drive, just north of Virginia Hospital Center. Initial reports suggest a van hit a sedan, sending the sedan into a pole. Three people who were in the car were brought to the hospital with minor injuries.

The driver of the van reportedly fled the scene after the accident. Officers and a police dog searched for the driver, but were not able to find her. Shortly after the search was called off, a woman fitting the description of the van driver showed up at the scene and was searched by officers. No word on which charges, if any, will be filed.

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Arrest Made in Ballston Hit-and-Run

By ARLnow.com

A Fairfax man has been arrested and charged in a hit-and-run accident that seriously injured a 22-year-old woman in Ballston.

The accident happened just after midnight on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2010. Police said the woman was trying to cross Fairfax Drive near the Ballston Metro station when she was struck by a dark-colored vehicle that then sped away. The woman was taken to the local hospital in serious condition.

Police say they used debris left at the scene to charge 24-year-old John Christopher Reynolds of Fairfax with Felony Hit and Run.

Reynolds’ Facebook page says he studied psychology and criminal justice at Old Dominion University and has been working as a “leadership consultant” for the Kappa Delta Rho national fraternity.

He is currently being held at the Arlington County Detention Center.

Photo courtesy Arlington County Police Department

UPDATED: Police Search for Wrong-Way Driver After I-395 Crash

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 5:20 p.m.) Police were combing the area around I-395 early this morning after a hit-and-run crash involving a reported wrong-way driver.

Around 2:30 a.m., police got a call for a gray Lincoln Town Car heading southbound in the northbound HOV lanes of I-395. Just moments later, a call came in for a collision under the Arlington Ridge Road bridge.

According to Virginia State Police, the Town Car crashed head-on into a red Mitsubishi sedan, sending the Mitsubishi flying into a northbound tractor-trailer. The driver of the Town Car then fled on foot.

Arlington Police and Virginia State Police searched for the suspect — described as at the time as young, well-dressed man — but he remains at large.

Miraculously, the female driver of the Mitsubishi only suffered minor injuries. She was taken to a local hospital for treatment. The driver of the tractor-trailer was not injured.

HOV lane traffic backed up as police investigated the accident. Investigators are still trying to figure out how the Town Car entered the HOV lanes going the wrong way.

See the press release from Virginia State Police, after the jump.

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Young Woman Hit By Car, Seriously Injured Near Ballston Metro

By ARLnow.com

A 22-year-old woman was hit by a car and seriously injured while trying to cross Fairfax Drive near the Ballston Metro station early this morning.

Police say a dark-colored sedan hit the woman in the 4200 block of Fairfax Drive around 12:20 a.m. The car did not stop and police are investigating the accident as a hit-and-run.

The young woman is in serious condition at a local hospital, according to police.

Anyone who witnessed the accident or has information about the accident is asked to call Det. Robert Wright at (703) 228-4618. Police say the striking vehicle should have noticeable front-end damage.

Update on 12/31/10 — Police have released additional information about the striking vehicle.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Arlington County Police Department is investigating a hit and run accident that occurred yesterday morning in the 4200 block of Fairfax Drive. At approximately 12:20 a.m. on Thursday, December 30, 2010, police responded for a pedestrian stuck by a vehicle.

A woman was crossing Fairfax Drive in a crosswalk when she was struck by a vehicle. The striking vehicle did not stop at the scene. She was transported to a local hospital in serious condition.

The striking vehicle has been identified as a dark colored 2003-2005 Dodge or Plymouth Neon. The vehicle would have noticeable damage to the front passenger side and passenger side mirror.

Police ask that anyone who witnessed the accident, or has information relating to this incident or the striking vehicle, contact Detective Robert Wright at (703) 228-4618.

Driving School Fail

By ARLnow.com

Police just broadcast a lookout for a vehicle involved in a hit and run at the intersection of Washington Boulevard and 10th Street in Clarendon.

The vehicle that allegedly fled the scene is described as having the name of a driving school on the side.

Hit and Run Driver Rear-Ends Police Cruiser in Courthouse

By ARLnow.com

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.

Police, WMATA Investigating Possible Hit and Run By Metrobus

By ARLnow.com

Police and WMATA are investigating an apparent hit and run accident that happened in Ballston this afternoon.

The three occupants of the car that was hit and another witness told police that a Metrobus rear-ended a car at the intersection of Fairfax Drive and Glebe Road, then fled the scene by making an illegal right turn from the main travel lanes of Fairfax onto Glebe.

Jeffrey Nichols-Haining, the driver of the car, says the light had just turned green when he saw the bus barreling toward him.

“I did see it [coming] in my rear view mirror… I mumbled [expletive] then got hit,” he said.

“He waved us to go forward, then after we went forward he turned,” said Nichols-Haning’s sister, a passenger in the car. Nichols-Haining said another driver saw the accident happen and tried to help.

“Some guy… turned behind us, caught his bus number and called the cops,” he said. “We filled out a police report, and we have a witness report that was filed.”

A Metro supervisor showed up about an hour after the accident. A Metro spokesperson says the agency is investigating the incident.

Nichols-Haining says he was on his way back home to Morgantown, W.V. after picking up his sister, who had just completed an internship. Although the car appears drivable, he said he couldn’t get his camera to take photos of the damage because the trunk won’t open. He added that he hopes to get the accident behind him and get on with his travel plans.

“I’d like to keep going because I have a camping trip planned… hopefully we’ll be able to resolve this quickly and get on with it.”

Update at 4:25 p.m. — A WMATA spokesperson tells TBD.com that the driver of the Metrobus did not report the incident. The driver has been put on three days of leave and will undergo mandatory drug and alcohol testing, TBD reports.

Update at 8:55 p.m. — The bus was out of service at the time of the crash. The driver was cited by Arlington Police, WTOP reports.

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