Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

Fatal overdose of Justice High School student under police investigation

Published December 6, 2023 at 3:45PM

Fairfax County police (file photo)

Fairfax County police are investigating the death of a teenager who experienced a drug overdose while at her home in Seven Corners earlier this week.

Detectives have determined that the girl became unconscious while on a video chat with a friend from an apartment in the 2900 block of John Marshall Drive on Monday (Dec. 4), the Fairfax County Police Department reported today (Wednesday).

News

Police identify man killed in Route 29 crash near Centreville

By Angela Woolsey

Published December 6, 2023 at 2:30PM | Updated December 6, 2023 at 5:43PM

A utility truck repairs a traffic signal at the Route 29 and Clifton Road intersection after a crash on Tuesday, Dec. 5 (via VDOT/Twitter)

(Updated at 5:45 p.m.) Speed was likely a factor in yesterday’s fatal two-car crash on Route 29, the Fairfax County Police Department says.

Sohail Iqbal, 30, of Manassas died at the scene after the driver of a 2013 BMW M3 plowed into his Hyundai Sonata around 12:24 a.m. at the intersection of Route 29 and Clifton Road, just outside Centreville, the police department reported today (Wednesday).

News

Police arrest suspect in September rape at West Falls Church motel

By Angela Woolsey

Published December 6, 2023 at 1:30PM | Updated December 6, 2023 at 2:01PM

Quarry Inn Motel in West Falls Church (via Google Maps)

A Falls Church man has been arrested in connection to a sexual assault at the Quarry Inn Motel (7179 Lee Highway) in September.

Erick Vladamir Chacon Martinez, 23, was taken into custody yesterday (Tuesday) after detectives obtained warrants charging him with raping a woman at the West Falls Church motel on Sept. 16, the Fairfax County Police Department announced today.

Countywide

Lake Accotink task force finds lake could be partially saved with regular dredging

By Angela Woolsey

Published December 6, 2023 at 10:15AM | Updated December 6, 2023 at 11:15AM

Boaters and geese can be seen in the distance on Lake Accotink (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The best path forward for saving Lake Accotink might to let it shrink, a Fairfax County task force has proposed.

Created by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in May, the 30-person group was charged with exploring alternatives to fully dredging the sediment that has accumulated in the man-made body of water or converting it to a wetland, as recommended earlier this year by county staff.

Around Town

Jiwa Singapura closes at Tysons Galleria after less than a year

By Angela Woolsey

Published December 6, 2023 at 9:30AM | Updated December 6, 2023 at 2:06PM

Jiwa Singapura has closed in Tysons Galleria (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

(Updated at 2:05 p.m.) Tysons Galleria has lost another dining option.

Jiwa Singapura, which sought to blend Singaporean street food with a “high-end” setting, closed its doors on Monday, Dec. 4 after less than 10 months of operations.

News

Traffic Alert: Truck fire backs up Capital Beltway near Springfield Mixing Bowl

By Angela Woolsey

Published December 5, 2023 at 5:30PM

A vehicle caught on fire on the Capital Beltway in Springfield (courtesy Dave Statter/Twitter)

A vehicle fire has snarled rush-hour traffic on the Capital Beltway in Springfield.

A truck caught fire around Backlick Road just west of the Springfield Mixing Bowl, where I-495 meets I-395. The left and express southbound lanes on I-495 were closed for the fire, creating traffic backups that extended about two miles, as of 5:21 p.m., according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.

Around Town

Santa is visiting Tysons Galleria and The Boro this week

By Angela Woolsey

Published December 5, 2023 at 3:30PM

Santa will also appear at The Boro on Saturday, Dec. 9 for a holiday extravaganza (courtesy The Boro)

Santa Claus has already taken up temporary residence at Tysons Corner Center, but that won’t stop him from dropping by a couple of other spots around Tysons this week.

Coming up first, a particularly debonair St. Nick will host an evening of cocktails, cinema and charity on Friday (Dec. 8) at CMX Cinebistro in Tysons Galleria (2001 International Drive).

Around Town

NEW: Ometeo opening in Tysons tomorrow with ‘elevated’ but accessible Tex-Mex food

By Angela Woolsey

Published December 5, 2023 at 11:45AM | Updated December 5, 2023 at 4:40PM

A "stuffie tamal" appetizer from Ometeo (photo by An-Phuong Ly)

(Updated at 4:40 p.m.) After almost four years of dreaming, planning and building, the team behind Ometeo is ready to introduce its spin on Tex-Mex cuisine to Tysons.

The new restaurant will open to the public for the first time at 1640 Capital One Drive tomorrow (Wednesday), Long Shot Hospitality Partner Jeremy Carman confirmed to FFXnow.

Countywide

FCPS fully restores snow days, ending use of virtual learning

By Angela Woolsey

Published December 5, 2023 at 10:15AM

Kids with sleds cross the street to Cunningham Park Elementary School in Vienna on a snow day in January 2022 (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A flurry of snow days will be on the table for Fairfax County Public Schools this winter, though it remains to be seen how much the weather will oblige.

FCPS has built 11 snow days into its 2023-2024 calendar, and it will fully close on all of them if needed, ending a recent practice of shifting to virtual learning after five snow days.

News

Route 29 reopens after fatal two-car crash outside Clifton 7-Eleven

By Angela Woolsey

Published December 5, 2023 at 9:30AM

The Route 29 and Clifton Road intersection facing 7-Eleven (via Google Maps)

One driver was killed and another hospitalized with serious injuries in a two-car crash on Route 29 in the Clifton area early this morning (Tuesday).

A Fairfax County police officer reported at 12:25 a.m. that he “just had a vehicle roll over in front of me at the Clifton 7-Eleven,” describing an occupant as “trapped and unresponsive,” according to scanner traffic on Open MHz.