Fairfax County police believe a driver might’ve been speeding when she fatally crashed on Old Keene Mill Road in Springfield on Tuesday (June 9).
Charity McGhee, a 49-year-old resident of Alexandria, was driving a Toyota Camry east on Old Keene Mill Road when the sedan appears to have veered off the roadway “and struck a guardrail” near Tiverton Drive, the Fairfax County Police Department said in an update yesterday.
Officers were dispatched at 3:18 p.m. to the single-vehicle crash, which occurred near St. Bernadette Catholic Church. One officer relayed on the police scanner that the guardrail apparently “went up into the vehicle.”
McGhee was declared dead at the scene of the crash, and two adult male passengers were transported to a local hospital, one of them in life-threatening condition, according to the FCPD. There were also two dogs in the vehicle at the time of the crash, police said.
“Both dogs were immediately transported to receive emergency veterinary evaluation and care following the crash,” said a spokesperson for Fairfax County Animal Services, which took custody of the pets.
Based on preliminary findings, police say “speed is believed to be a factor in the crash,” but detectives are still investigating the circumstances of the incident, including whether alcohol was involved.
Including McGhee, six people have died in crashes on Fairfax County roads in May and June, bringing the total death toll for 2026 up to 21 people based on preliminary state data, which currently lists 15 fatalities for January through April.
Per state data, Old Keene Mill Road typically sees dozens of crashes a year, with four people dying, including two pedestrians, in 2024. Another pedestrian died after he was struck by a sedan driver at Hanover Avenue in November 2025, less than a mile from where McGhee was killed.
The only improvements that appear to be under consideration for the road — which runs from Franconia Road at the I-95/I-395 interchange in Springfield to Fairfax County Parkway in Burke — are a new crosswalk outside Irving Middle School and bicycle shoulders from Lee Chapel Road to Spring Road.
The Virginia Department of Transportation issued a notice last fall advertising its “willingness” to hold a public hearing on the proposed crosswalk improvements, but it’s unclear if one was actually scheduled. The project page says construction could begin this spring or summer.
A status report from the Fairfax County Department of Transportation indicates that the bicycle shoulders project is currently on hold with no identified funding. The project wasn’t included in an updated Transportation Priorities Plan approved by the Board of Supervisors for the next six years on Dec. 9.
Screenshot via Google Maps
