New Braddock Road crashes raise community concerns

Another serious crash on New Braddock Road in Centreville came on Monday (April 4).

According to Fairfax County police, a Kia traveling west on the road sped past Route 28’s six lanes of traffic, injuring two people and causing them to be entrapped.

The crash happened around 1:50 a.m. when the vehicle hit an embankment, went airborne, and traveled through a strand of trees, a police officer said in a court document. The impact tore the engine away from the vehicle.

Both the 42-year-old driver and her passenger were taken to the hospital with significant injuries, the officer said. Emergency room staff found two glass smoking devices in the driver’s clothing, and a male passenger suggested alcohol and drugs may have been involved, according to the officer.

The driver said she had no recollection of the crash or events leading up to it and denied drinking alcohol or using drugs, according to the court document.

Singletons Way intersection scrutinized

Monday’s crash was the sixth so far this year on New Braddock Road and the second resulting in injuries, according to data from a Virginia traffic crash database.

Of 20 crashes recorded on the road in 2021, 13 were between Route 28 and Montiero Drive, and all four incidents resulting in injuries occurred in the area of the intersection at Singletons Way, raising concerns about safety among community members.

One crash on the evening of Oct. 9 at that intersection caused six injuries.

Others involved a driver under the influence of alcohol on July 21 at 8:17 p.m., where two people were injured, and a distracted driver at 10:15 a.m. Jan. 26 of this year near the intersection, according to the database.

When asked about mitigation and prevention efforts, Fairfax County Police Department said there weren’t initiatives currently happening there, but traffic enforcement units at the station would assess the intersection.

“Our commanders constantly look for feedback from the community to help us allocate our resources,” police said in a statement.

VDOT said police would have more information about specific crashes, but a spokesperson said she would check with traffic engineering staff.

A community member on the social media site Nextdoor said police are aware of the problem. Residents were discussing the safety of the New Braddock Road and Singletons Way intersection.

The state traffic database indicates that speed was a factor in some crashes at the intersection in 2019 and 2020, but that wasn’t the case last year or this year so far at that particular intersection.

The Fairfax County Department of Transportation did not return a request for comment by publication time.

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