The driver believed to be involved in a crash that killed a pedestrian on Fairfax County Parkway last December has turned herself in and been charged in the pedestrian’s death.
Shaza Edris, 20, of Fairfax, was charged with felony hit and run involving in death, and using a handheld personal communications device while driving, the Fairfax County Police Department announced on Friday (June 26).
Police say Edris “was actively using her cell phone when she struck the pedestrian” — identified as Jimmy Patterson, 50, of no fixed address — in the Fair Oaks area on Dec. 23, 2025.
Members of the Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department found Patterson’s body the next morning and pronounced him dead at the scene. A driver had called to report possibly seeing a body in the grassy median near Old Plains Road.
The FCPD previously said the driver who struck Patterson initially fled but later returned to the scene while the crash was under investigation.
Edris was released on a $5,000 unsecured bond. According to court records, she is scheduled to appear in Fairfax County General District Court for a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, July 1.
Violations of Virginia’s law requiring drivers involved in a crash that results in serious injury or death to “immediately stop” at the scene are classified as Class 5 felonies punishable by one to 10 years in prison, or up to a year in jail with a $2,500 maximum fine, if preferred by a jury.
Virginia has banned the use of a cell phone while driving since the beginning of 2021, imposing a fine of $125 for most first offenses and $250 for subsequent offenses. Incidents that occur in a highway work zone always carry a $250 fine.
Patterson was one of 14 pedestrians to die in Fairfax County last year. This year, the pedestrian death toll has already reached double digits after a recent surge in which four pedestrians and a motorcyclist died within two days.
Officers recently concluded the second phase of a safety enforcement campaign aimed at reducing reckless and unsafe driving behaviors. The “Road Shark” campaign will resume in August.
