A student at Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn was struck and killed Tuesday by a Loudoun County Public Schools maintenance truck, according to the sheriff’s office.
A student at Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn, Virginia, was struck and killed Tuesday morning by a Loudoun County Public Schools maintenance truck, according to the county sheriff’s office.
The driver, a school system employee, struck and killed 20-year-old Calina Yu while she was on her way to school, a spokesperson for the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office told WTOP.
The crash happened at around 9:13 a.m. at the intersection of Claiborne Parkway and Portsmouth Boulevard, just steps away from the high school. The driver of the school maintenance vehicle stayed at the scene of the crash and spoke to detectives, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
WTOP has reached out to Stone Bridge High officials for comment.
The sheriff’s office is asking anyone who saw the crash or has any relevant information to contact detective Mark Lotz at 703-771-1021. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call Loudoun County Crime Solvers at 703-777-1919 or submit a tip through the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office app.
A map of the area where the crash occurred is below:
(Courtesy Google Maps)
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Fairfax County police have released video that shows a cruiser strike a 62-year-old woman, who was lying in the roadway following an earlier hit-and-run crash.
New video shows the moment a Fairfax County police officer’s cruiser struck and killed a woman who was lying in the roadway, waiting for help after an earlier hit-and-run crash in Hybla Valley last month.
Trina Jones, 62, of Alexandria, Virginia, was fatally struck near the intersection of Richmond Highway and Belford Drive on Sept. 23, according to police.
CLICK TO ENLARGE: A photo of Trina Jones, a 62-year-old from Alexandria, Virginia. (Courtesy The Cochran Firm)
“Please do not tell me I just ran her over,” an officer can be heard saying on footage released by Fairfax County police on Thursday, one month to the day after the crash, in accordance with the department’s policy.
The involved officer is a two-year veteran of the Fairfax County Police Department who is assigned to the Mount Vernon Police District.
The department said he’s on restricted-duty status as it conducts criminal and administrative investigations into the crash.
What happened?
Before officers arrived on the scene, Jones had been struck by a 2016 black Mercedes C300 just before 8:40 p.m. Police said they’re still searching for the car.
The mother of four survived that initial crash and the Mercedes drove away.
“Ms. Jones was alive when our police car made contact with her,” Police Chief Kevin Davis said during a news conference on Thursday. “Those standing on the side of the roadway were pleading with her to get out of the roadway.”
But Davis said multiple witnesses told police, “Ms. Jones indicated to them that she was going to wait for the police.”
Davis said a car was parked in front of Jones, attempting to shield her from any oncoming traffic from the intersection. He moved his car out of the way as the police cruiser and other first responders’ vehicles arrived on the scene.
CLICK TO ENLARGE: A photo of a Mercedes believed to have initially struck Trina Jones. (Courtesy Fairfax County police)
Video shows the cruiser maneuvering around cars, driving through the intersection and then striking Jones, who seemed to be lying next to the crosswalk, near the middle and right lanes of the roadway.
“That’s when our police officer, young police officer — again, stellar reputation doing great things at the Mount Vernon district in the community — made contact with Ms. Jones,” Davis said. “That contact ended up being fatal for Ms. Jones.”
Footage from the police cruiser shows the cruiser run Jones over, driving between 14 and 17 mph, according to the police investigation.
“There’s no indication that his driving was egregious,” Davis said. “There’s a lot going on at that intersection with the incoming emergency equipment, fire, police, witnesses.”
Jones was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead.
Investigation continues
Davis said the department has made progress in its investigation into locating the black Mercedes allegedly involved in the hit-and-run. But he encouraged anyone who may have spotted the vehicle to contact police.
“Locating that black Mercedes is so important because is there any damage to it? Is there other evidence, or DNA, or indications of a collision that we could estimate the severity of that contact, if any? Was it incidental? Was it injurious? I don’t know,” he said.
Davis said the incident was “traumatic,” all around, for witnesses, the officer and of course, for Jones and her family.
“I don’t want to compare and contrast what the Jones family is going through, because that’s certainly something that is devastating to the family, but what the young police officer goes through, it’s equally challenging and traumatic to him as well,” Davis said.
Police are conducting a criminal investigation, as well as an administrative investigation into the crash. An auditor independent of the department will also investigate.
It’s up to the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office to decide whether to pursue charges.
Separately, the family’s attorney, David Haynes, of The Cochran Firm, said his firm will independently investigate what happened to Jones.
“This officer’s conduct is inexcusable and our investigation will certainly help determine how it is that he killed the very person he was coming to assist. We will leave no stone unturned in our investigation as we work to get answers for Ms. Jones’ family,” Haynes told WTOP in an email.
The police department’s performance board will review the crash to see if changes need to be made to training or equipment, according to a news release.
Davis said the department has invested in safety equipment for cruisers, including technology that flags if a pedestrian is approaching a parked police cruiser.
“There’s not a technology that we won’t pursue to ensure that our driving is done as responsibly and safely as possible,” Davis said. “And from this incident, there will undoubtedly be recommendations for us to pursue even more technology and more opportunities to be safe.”
New safety features will be added to an intersection where a Howard University student was struck and killed by a car on campus.
Howard University campus held a vigil for Mohamed Samura, a student who died following a crash on campus. (Courtesy 7News)
Howard University campus held a vigil for Mohamed Samura, a student who died following a crash on campus. (Courtesy 7News)
New safety features will be added to an intersection where a Howard University student was struck and killed by a car on campus. One Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner suggested these updates should have been done earlier.
“My understanding is that there was a safety lock about eight months ago, where these were some of the changes that they were thinking about but until Mohamed died, they didn’t actually implement them,” ANC Commissioner Josh Jacobson told WTOP.
On April 11, 18-year-old Mohamed Samura was walking on the D.C. campus, police said. The driver was traveling northbound on 6th Street from Howard Place at a “high rate of speed,” then tried to turn left at the intersection on Fairmont and 6th streets, mounted a curb and struck Samura.
Single Vehicle crash- 2700 Blk. 6th St. NW pedestrian struck non- life threatening. 1 person being transported. #DCsBravestpic.twitter.com/bcOV1OiWrC
The university’s campus newspaper, The Hilltop, reported the driver was a faculty member.
DDOT will install raised crosswalks at that intersection and also install a bike rack at that corner, “where if someone were to speed and jumped the curb, instead of hitting a person, they would hit a bike rack,” Jacobson said.
“DDOT said it should be within a month or two,” Jacobson said. “It just takes too long and comes at the cost of people’s lives before big changes that are needed are made.”
WTOP has reached out to DDOT for comment on the project.
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Scott Cornell Binde, 64, of Alexandria, was struck and killed while riding his bicycle in Frederick County, Maryland, on Saturday.
A Virginia man was struck and killed while riding his bicycle in Frederick County, Maryland, on Saturday.
Maryland State Police said that officers responded to the intersection of U.S. Route 15 and Catoctin Furnace Road about a crash between a bicyclist and a vehicle just before 3:30 p.m.
Scott Cornell Binde, 64, of Alexandria was crossing Route 15 on Catoctin Furnace Road on his bicycle when he was struck by a Toyota 4Runner. He died at the scene.
The driver of the striking vehicle remained at the scene.
Police said alcohol isn’t considered a factor in the crash, which remains under investigation.
Northbound Route 15 was reopened to traffic about 3 hours after the deadly crash.
A map of the area where the crash took place is below:
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Just after 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Montgomery County Fire Rescue personnel and police officers responded to reports of a pedestrian struck on the westbound side of Norbeck Road, between Georgia Avenue and Muncaster Mill Road.
Police said Smith had been driving when he collided with a sign, disabling his vehicle in the median. Smith then got out of his vehicle and was struck in the roadway by the driver of a black BMW. Police said the driver of the BMW remained at the scene.
Smith was pronounced dead at the scene.
Anyone with information regarding this collision is asked to contact detectives at (240) 773-6620.
Below is a map of the approximate area of where the crash occurred.
WTOP’s Ana Golden contributed to this report.
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A Silver Spring, Maryland, man is dead after being hit by two vehicles — including one that did not stop — as he walked near an intersection in Montgomery County on Friday night, police said.
A Silver Spring, Maryland, man is dead after being hit by two vehicles — including one that did not stop — as he walked near an intersection in Montgomery County on Friday night, police said.
According to police, a Honda Odyssey mounted the curb “for unknown reasons” while traveling westbound on Randolph Road near the intersection of Kimblewick Drive shortly after 10 p.m., striking 52-year-old Ronaldo Franzese and causing him to “fall into the roadway.”
A white, four-door Acura then hit Franzese, who was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
The Acura “fled the scene without rendering aid” to Franzese, and was seen traveling north on New Hampshire Avenue and then west on Randolph Road, according to police.
“The Acura may be a white 2009-2012 Acura TL, which is missing a fender line and may have additional damage on the front end, near the ground,” police said in a release.
Stock image of an Acura that could match the description of the suspect vehicle. (Courtesy Montgomery County police)
Below is a map of the area where it happened.
The police department’s collision reconstruction unit asks that anyone with information regarding the fatal crash to contact detectives at crunit@montgomerycountymd.gov or (240) 773-6620.
