Two adults were killed and two children were hospitalized — including a toddler police fear may not survive — as a result of an SUV crash in Oakton early yesterday (Sunday) morning.
Officers and first responders with the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department were dispatched around 12:28 a.m. yesterday to Route 123 (Chain Bridge Road) over I-66 for the crash, which involved an SUV “that ran into the barrier” on the northbound side of the road, according to scanner traffic.
Additional medics were quickly requested after responders found two adults who had to be extricated from the vehicle, both of them suffering from injuries described as life-threatening.
The driver — Xiomara Herrera, 30, of Falls Church — was pronounced dead at the scene at around 12:43 a.m., while the front-seat passenger — identified as Alejandro Rodriguez Castillo, 27, of Sterling — was transported in critical condition to Inova Fairfax Hospital, where he later died, the Fairfax County Police Department said.
The couple’s 2-year-old child and an 8-year-old family friend were also taken to a hospital. The 2-year-old was in life-threatening condition, and Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis indicated at a press conference this afternoon (Monday) that they were unlikely to survive.
“We have now two fatalities. We’re probably going to have three,” he said, adding that the police department is “maintaining close contact with the family.”
The FCPD confirmed on May 21 that the toddler had died from her injuries.
Two juvenile passengers were transported with injuries, one life-threatening. Northbound and southbound Route 123 are shut down as Crash Reconstruction detectives investigate. Please use an alternate route. (2/2)
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) May 17, 2026
Based on a preliminary investigation, police believe Herrera was exiting the I-66 Express Lanes in a 2020 Mercedes GLA 250 at Route 123 at a speed of 116 mph. As she drove up the exit ramp, the vehicle hit a median and “collided very violently with the bridge wall on the other side of the roadway,” where it came to a stop, Davis said.
The speed was recorded about five seconds prior to the crash, suggesting the vehicle was traveling even faster at the moment of collision, according to the police chief.
The investigation also suggests that only the 8-year-old boy was wearing any restraint at the time of the crash, and his seat belt might not have been the appropriate option for his age and size, Davis said.
According to Davis, 12 people have been killed in crashes in Fairfax County since 2023 while not wearing a seatbelt or other restraint. Four of those deaths have now occurred this year.
“We’re seeing a disproportionate amount of our fatal collisions involving unrestrained drivers and passengers,” Davis said. “We mourn with the families who’ve lost their loved ones. It’s a terrible thing to go through, whether it’s an adult or child, and family and friends are grieving. But we didn’t want to miss out on an opportunity to tell our community that we’re paying attention to the trends and patterns associated with our driving behaviors.”
Virginia law now requires vehicle drivers and all passengers to wear a safety belt while the vehicle is moving. Adults 18 and older must wear a seat belt, unless they have an exemption from a physician due to a medical condition, while children must be strapped in with a safety restraint.
The state didn’t require restraints for all occupants, regardless of their age or seating location, until July 2025. Violations face a $25 civil fine.
“Because proper use of child safety seats directly impacts safety, we strongly encourage parents and caregivers to have their car seats inspected or properly installed by a certified passenger safety technician,” FCPD Major Veva Wallace-Spaulding, who leads the department’s community partnerships division, said.
While the FCPD ended its free car seat inspection program last year due to budget cuts, the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office offers free, monthly child safety seat inspections by specially trained deputies. The next event will be this Saturday, May 23 from 8-10:30 a.m. on the fourth floor of the Fairfax County Courthouse’s parking garage B (10550 Page Avenue).
Davis noted that the FCPD is conducting a variety of traffic enforcement initiatives, including its annual Road Shark campaign that focuses on curbing aggressive and unsafe driving behaviors.
The department also recognizes May as Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s “Click It or Ticket” campaign aimed at increasing seatbelt use is underway from May 11-31.
“Throughout May, our officers will be conducting enforcement and distributing educational materials during traffic stops, reinforcing safe driving behaviors across all road users,” the FCPD said when announcing the campaigns in a May 4 blog post. “Whether you are behind the wheel, on two wheels, or on foot, safety is a shared responsibility. Staying focused, making smart choices, and looking out for one another can make all the difference.”
According to Davis, the FCPD has recorded nine crash fatalities so far this year, though the county police’s data doesn’t include crashes on highways and other roads overseen by other agencies like the Virginia State Police and Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police.
By FFXnow’s count, Fairfax County’s traffic-related death toll for this year is up to 16 people. Preliminary state data currently shows 12 fatalities in the county so far in 2026, but doesn’t include yesterday’s crash and only lists one fatality in March, when four people were killed in two different crashes in the same weekend.
