Two killed in separate vehicle crashes in Great Falls and West Springfield

A Great Falls man was killed in a single-vehicle crash on Friday (Nov. 11), Fairfax County police say.

Brian Christian Bernhart, 49, died after his Toyota Camry went off the roadway as he was driving near the intersection of Arnon Chapel Road and Arnon Lake Drive.

According to police, Bernhart “overcorrected” when he crossed a double yellow line and hit a tree.

He was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.

“Detectives continue to investigate to determine whether speed and alcohol were factors in the crash,” the Fairfax County Police Department said in a news release published Saturday (Nov. 12).

Here’s how to provide information about the crash:

Anyone with information about this crash is asked to contact our Crash Reconstruction Unit at 703-280-0543. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Solvers by phone – 1-866-411-TIPS (866-411-8477), and by web – Click HERE. Download the ‘P3 Tips’ App “Fairfax Co Crime Solvers”. Anonymous tipsters are eligible for cash rewards of $100 to $1,000 dollars. Please leave contact information if you wish for a detective to follow up with you.

That same day, a 37-year-old Maryland resident was killed in a three-vehicle crash on Fairfax County Parkway near Whitlers Creek Drive in West Springfield.

The man, Noe Solis Espinoza, was traveling northbound on the parkway when he lost control of his car and hit two other cars on the southbound side of the median. The driver of one of the other cars was treated for injuries that are not life-threatening, according to the FCPD.

Bernhart is the 18th non-pedestrian to die in a crash on county roads this year, surpassing the 16 fatalities recorded at this point in 2021.

Photo via Google Maps