(Updated at 1:25 p.m.) A 36-year-old Alexandria woman was killed last night (Thursday) after a driver who may have been speeding down Richmond Highway (Route 1) careened into her.
Samantha Jennings-Jones was walking on the sidewalk when a 2007 Mercedes C230 sedan hit her at 9:22 p.m. near the Clayborne Avenue intersection in Groveton, Fairfax County police said in a news release published today (Friday).
Based on a preliminary investigation, police say the Mercedes driver was headed south on Richmond Highway when they collided with a northbound 2017 Jeep Wrangler that was “attempting to make a left onto Clayborne Avenue.”
“The driver of the Mercedes struck the Jeep, left the roadway and spun around before striking Samantha Jennings-Jones,” the Fairfax County Police Department said.
Jennings-Jones died at the scene. She is the second pedestrian to be killed in a vehicle crash within the past seven days after Falls Church resident Ana Julia Acosta De Ostorga was hit while crossing Wilson Blvd in Seven Corners last Friday (March 24).
Prior to that crash, Fairfax County hadn’t seen any pedestrian fatalities in 2023. By this time last year, the FCPD had recorded five pedestrian-related fatal crashes.
“Preliminarily, speed appears to be a factor for the driver of the Mercedes in the crash. Detectives do not believe alcohol to be a factor,” the police department said regarding yesterday’s crash.
As they prepare to present details of the investigation to prosecutors for potential charges, police are still seeking additional information about the crash from community members.
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. Please leave contact information if you wish for a detective to follow up with you.
According to state data, there have now been 10 fatal crashes involving pedestrians on Richmond Highway since 2020.
Photo via Google Maps
