A 23-year-old man from Arlington has been charged with manslaughter in connection to a Feb. 16 crash in Bailey’s Crossroads that resulted in the death of a 93-year-old woman.
The Fairfax County Police Department announced on Thursday (April 4) that its detectives believe Isai Jimenez Paz was speeding when he allegedly crashed into a Toyota Corolla at the Leesburg Pike and South Jefferson Street intersection.
“[He] was driving a Toyota GR86 at a high speed westbound on Leesburg Pike,” the FCPD said in an updated news release. “The driver of a Toyota Corolla attempted a left turn onto a service road near South Jefferson Street from the eastbound lane of Leesburg Pike. Jimenez Paz struck the Corolla.”
The occupants of both vehicles, including the drivers and one passenger in each, were all transported to nearby hospitals for treatment. Falls Church resident Gladys Bilbao, the Corolla passenger, died from her injuries on Feb. 21.
Jimenez Paz, his passenger and the Corolla driver have since been discharged from the hospital, according to police.
Detectives arrested Jimenez Paz and charged him with involuntary manslaughter on April 3, the FCPD said. Released from custody on a secured bond, he’s scheduled for an arraignment this Wednesday (April 10) and a preliminary hearing on July 15, according to Fairfax County General District Court records.
There have been two fatal crashes on Leesburg Pike this year, both of them in the Bailey’s Crossroads area. Police also announced last week that the driver in a crash that killed a motorcyclist at Glen Carlyn Drive on March 10 has been charged with failing to yield on left turn.
Image via Google Maps
The driver involved in last month’s fatal motorcycle crash on Leesburg Pike (Route 7) has been charged with failing to yield on a left turn.
The Fairfax County Police Department announced yesterday (Monday) that its detectives had arrested the 35-year-old man from Bailey’s Crossroads and charged him with the traffic violation. He was released from custody after being served a summons.
An investigation found that the driver was headed west on Leesburg Pike in a 2000 Acura sedan and attempted to turn left onto Glen Carlyn Drive around 11 p.m. on March 10, according to the police.
“This caused the victim, who was riding a motorcycle at the time, to collide with Machado’s vehicle,” the FCPD said.
Alejandro Portillo, a 19-year-old from Arlington, was riding a 1996 Yamaha motorcycle east on Leesburg Pike in the left through-lane when he crashed into the sedan, police said in the initial news release.
Officers responded to the scene in Bailey’s Crossroads around 11:10 p.m. Portillo was taken to a hospital, where he died that evening.
Like in a 2022 crash on West Ox Road that killed a motorcyclist, the police investigation found that the driver’s actions in this case didn’t meet Virginia’s standards for a reckless driving or involuntary manslaughter charge, according to the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.
Failure to yield the right-of-way can constitute reckless driving under state law, but it only applies in instances where the driver “fails to bring his vehicle to a stop immediately before entering a highway from a side road when there is traffic approaching” within 500 feet of the entrance.
“Though this tragic incident resulted in the death of one of our community members, the charge brought against the defendant is the appropriate one and reflects the alleged facts of the case,” Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office spokesperson Laura Birnbaum said.
Court proceedings in the West Ox Road crash concluded on Feb. 27 with the driver being fined $50, an outcome that “disappointed” the mother of Andrew Dearing, the motorcyclist who was killed.
According to the Fairfax County General District Court, Virginia imposes uniform fines for traffic offenses that can’t be altered by a clerk or magistrate, though it doesn’t restrict the amount that a judge could charge if the case reaches a court hearing. The total for failing to yield on a left turn is $97, including court costs and processing fees.
The driver in the crash that killed Portillo is scheduled to appear in court for an adjudicatory hearing on July 3, according to court records.
Image via Google Maps
A 19-year-old man from Arlington died Sunday night (March 10) after reportedly crashing into a sedan while riding his motorcycle in Bailey’s Crossroads.
Officers responded to the intersection of Leesburg Pike (Route 7) and Glen Carlyn Drive at 11:10 p.m. on Sunday for a crash involving a 1996 Yamaha motorcycle and a 2000 Acura sedan, the Fairfax County Police Department said yesterday (Monday) in a news release.
“Preliminarily, detectives determined the driver of the Acura was traveling westbound on Leesburg Pike attempting to make a left turn onto Glen Carlyn Drive when he was struck on the passenger side by the motorcyclist which was eastbound on Leesburg Pike in the left through-lane,” the FCPD said.
Alejandro Portillo, the motorcyclist, was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
According to police, the Acura driver remained at the scene of the crash and didn’t experience any injuries. The crash remains under investigation.
Portillo is the eighth person who wasn’t a pedestrian to be killed in a traffic crash on Fairfax County roads this year, according to the FCPD. At this time in 2023, there had been three such fatalities.
This is the county’s first fatal crash of 2024 involving a motorcyclist, but seven motorcyclists died in crashes last year, a fatality rate matched in 2022, according to traffic data from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.
In the most recent crash, an Ashburn man was charged with reckless driving for allegedly speeding when he crashed into Zafeer Piracha, 27, of Lorton, who was riding a motorcycle on Route 28 in the Chantilly area.
Portillo is the second person to die in a crash in the Bailey’s Crossroads section of Leesburg Pike this year. Gladys Bilbao, a 93-year-old Falls Church resident, died last month from injuries she sustained as a passenger in a collision between two Toyota sedans at the South Jefferson Street intersection on Feb. 16.
The Route 7 corridor in Bailey’s Crossroads was identified as particularly dangerous for pedestrians in a 2022 report by immigrant advocacy organization CASA and nonprofit Coalition for Smarter Growth.
Image via Google Maps
A Los Angeles fast-food chain that specializes in Nashville-style fried chicken is planning to spice up Bailey’s Crossroads.
Dave’s Hot Chicken is coming to the Crossroads Place shopping center, situated at the intersection of Leesburg Pike and South Jefferson Street, property manager Levin Management, a New Jersey-based realty management company, announced last week.
Neither Levin nor Dave’s Hot Chicken has confirmed an opening date, only stating that the chain has secured a lease for a 2,300-square-foot space in the shopping center.
“Crossroads Place offers a great location in a high-demand market and proved to be an ideal fit for this popular chain’s continued growth,” Rappaport Executive Director of Brokerage Melissa Webb, who serves as a local representative for Levin, said in a press release. “Dave’s Hot Chicken diversifies the center’s dining options.”
Founded in 2017, Dave’s Hot Chicken offers a menu centered on Nashville hot chicken, including tenders and sliders that are available in seven spice levels, from “no spice” to “Reaper.” The menu also features house-made kale slaw, mac and cheese, french fries, and milkshakes.
The new establishment at Crossroads Place will be the fifth Dave’s Hot Chicken location in the D.C. area. It opened its first Virginia location last August in Tysons.
Upon its opening, the restaurant will face some stiff competition. Within a half-mile radius, there are at least five other chicken-focused eateries, including Buffalo Wild Wings, the Peruvian-style The Chicken Place, Edy’s Chicken & Steak, Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken and Wings and Wingstop.
More from the press release below:
Crossroads Place, which also features Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, Chipotle, Einstein Bagels, Quickway Japanese Hibachi and Starbucks, draws 3.7 million visitors per year, according to real-time traffic data from Placer.ai. Anchored by a Giant food store and Burlington, the property’s tenant mix also includes HomeGoods, T.J.Maxx, Cost Plus World Market, KC Beauty and Mattress Warehouse, along with neighborhood conveniences such as a nail salon and optometrist.
The center serves a growing residential population of more than 579,000 people within a five-mile radius, and the marketplace boasts an average household income of more than $186,000. Crossroads Place also benefits from a daily traffic count of 30,000 vehicles on Leesburg Pike. One 12,500-square-foot space remains available at Crossroads Place.
For seven decades, LMC has served as a trusted single-source commercial real estate services provider for institutional and private owners. Its diversified, retail-focused leasing and management portfolio includes 125 properties totaling more than 16 million square feet in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states.
A 93-year-old woman died earlier this week from injuries she sustained in a car crash on Leesburg Pike (Route 7) in Bailey’s Crossroads, police say.
Gladys Bilbao, a Falls Church resident, was in the front passenger seat of a 2007 Toyota Corolla when the driver collided with a 2023 Toyota GR86 in the South Jefferson Street intersection around 7 p.m. on Feb. 16, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.
“Preliminarily, detectives determined the driver of the Toyota Corolla turned left onto South Jefferson Street from eastbound Leesburg Pike, in front of the Toyota GR86, which was traveling west on Leesburg Pike, resulting in the crash,” the FCPD said in a news release. “The Corolla and GR86 both had two occupants per vehicle. All four occupants involved were transported to area hospitals for treatment.”
Detectives were notified on Wednesday (Feb. 21) that Bilbao had died from her injuries, the FCPD announced yesterday (Thursday).
An investigation into the crash is ongoing, specifically to determine “whether speed was a factor,” police said.
According to the FCPD, Bilbao is the seventh person to die in a traffic crash in Fairfax County this year, more than doubling the three fatalities recorded at this time in 2023. The count doesn’t appear to include this year’s two pedestrian fatalities, which both stemmed from crashes in the Richmond Highway corridor, where four people have died this month.
A 2022 study conducted by the immigrant advocacy organization CASA and nonprofit Coalition for Smarter Growth identified the Bailey’s Crossroads section of Route 7 as a dangerous road for pedestrians, citing frequent speeding by drivers and a lack of crosswalks and sidewalks. Last year, the Virginia Department of Transportation reduced the speed limit from 40 to 35 mph between the Falls Church and Alexandria city limits.
The speed limit was also lowered on much of Richmond Highway last May.
Image via Google Maps
Columbia Pike has been closed for more than 12 hours near Bailey’s Crossroads after a vehicle crashed into a house and utility pole last night (Sunday), taking out the pole and, with it, the area’s electricity.
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue investigators were dispatched to Columbia Pike at Powell Lane around 7:16 p.m. for the single-vehicle crash, according to scanner traffic on Open MHz.
Upon arriving at the scene, a responder reported to the dispatcher that one vehicle drove into a house, but there didn’t appear to be any structural damage.
“I do have a major power line blocking Columbia Pike in both directions,” he said.
No injuries were reported in the crash, but the downed utility pole resulted in power outages for 1,893 Dominion Energy customers, Dominion spokesperson Peggy Fox said shortly before 10 p.m.
The Fairfax County Police Department warned that the road closure would extend through the morning commute due to “extensive damage” at the Blair Road intersection.
As of 10:20 a.m., Columbia Pike remains closed in both directions, prompting the FCPD to advise drivers to find “an alternate route.” Dominion Energy still has 365 customers in Bailey’s Crossroads without power, according to the utility company’s outage map.
“We expect to bring power back by noon,” Fox said in a tweet. “Thanks for your patience. Avoid the area if possible.”
⚠ ROAD CLOSURE ⚠ Columbia Pike at Blair Rd in Baileys Crossroads is closed in both directions. A single vehicle crashed into a utility pole & house causing minor damage. No injuries to anyone involved. Downed powerlines expected to cause delays. Please use an alternate route. pic.twitter.com/LUAugSpWOM
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) February 12, 2024
Work repairing downed lines from vehicle crash into pole continues on Columbia Pike.
365 customer outages. We expect to bring power back by noon.
Thanks for your patience. 🙏🏻
Avoid the area if possible.https://t.co/jJaJ68yyu0— Peggy Fox (@PeggyDomEnergy) February 12, 2024
A man allegedly responsible for a series of thefts and larcenies in Bailey’s Crossroads was arrested this morning (Wednesday) after trying to flee from police on a bicycle.
Fairfax County police officers responded to the 5200 block of Leesburg Pike around 7:40 a.m. after a woman reported to 911 that a man on a bicycle had “attempted to snatch her purse twice” about 10 minutes earlier near the Crossroads Place shopping center, according to scanner traffic on Open MHz.
“Caller is advising he attempted it once, followed her to this location and attempted again,” the dispatcher said.
Upon investigating, an officer determined that the “purse snatching” may be connected to a series of at least four larcenies and robberies in the area, per the police scanner.
A chase began after an officer spotted a man matching the provided suspect description in front of Dick’s Sporting Goods on Columbia Pike. She said on the scanner that she told the man to stop, but he continued bicycling “fast” toward Spring Lane.
A traffic camera video shared by local public safety watcher Dave Statter shows that at least seven Fairfax County Police Department vehicles were involved in the pursuit. They get held up at a stop light in the eastbound lanes on Columbia Pike at the Arlington County border while a bicyclist passes by, headed in the wrong direction in the westbound lanes.
The man was ultimately caught at the Columbia Pike and S. Greenbrier Street intersection in Arlington, according to the police scanner.
“The cyclist matching the description fled from our officers but was detained by our cops with 4 wheels,” the Fairfax County Police Department said in a 10:33 a.m. tweet. “Officers [are] on scene continuing to investigate.”
Not something you see every morning commute!
Officers searching for a man who attempted to steal a purse. The cyclist matching the description fled from our officers but was detained by our cops with 4 wheels. Officers on scene continuing to investigate. https://t.co/juCSnMP4TK— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) January 24, 2024
For the first time this century, Fairfax County’s Mason District has a new supervisor.
In his first week since succeeding Penny Gross, who retired in December after 27 years in the position, Andres Jimenez says he has been actively engaging with constituents to tackle issues ranging from transportation to art projects and economic development.
An immigrant from Bogota, Colombia, who has now lived in the Falls Church area for 12 years, Jimenez is the first Latino to represent Mason District on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. He also works as the executive director of the pay equity campaign Green 2.0 and previously served as an at-large member of the Fairfax County Planning Commission.
Winning a decisive victory last November over independent candidate Terry Modglin with 72% of the vote, Jimenez says that, since taking office on Jan. 1, he has been setting up his various social media channels, launching a new podcast and organizing several public forums across the district.
“I think that smart government is when residents don’t just come to you, it’s when the government — when the supervisor’s office — is going into the community and reaching out to residents…and asking them what is working, what’s not working, because only then can you really begin to make change,” he told FFXnow.
The dates for the public town hall and open house events have not been announced yet. However, Jimenez anticipates key areas will include transportation, housing and economic development.
“We do plan to go out into the communities [and] listen to the residents and make sure that we are prioritizing the needs of Mason District,” he said.
Pedestrian and traffic safety
Top on Jimenez’s agenda is addressing pedestrian and traffic safety concerns in neighborhoods like Annandale, Bailey’s Crossroads and Seven Corners.
Last year, the community advocacy group Fairfax Families for Safe Streets published a report showing that pedestrian fatalities increased in 2022 as a result of “underfunding for pedestrian-focused projects.”
“Unfortunately, there have been a lot of fatalities when it comes to the pedestrians,” Jimenez said. “…We need to really start working on figuring out not only why is this happening, but how can we solve this problem.”
In 2021, the Board of Supervisors approved $100 million for county-wide pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure improvements that will be allocated to different projects through 2028. About $30.2 million has been allocated to date, according to the county website.
At the moment, the county is reviewing 69 proposed safety projects proposed for Mason District. Each of the projects originated from resident suggestions through a county-led online survey.
Jimenez emphasized his objective is to ensure that money is promptly allocated to projects in Mason District, adding that the money is “desperately needed.”
Jimenez identified a few intersections — such as Leesburg Pike (Route 7) at both Row Street and Columbia Pike — as high priority, focusing more on signal upgrades and other spot improvements than more comprehensive, long-term solutions.
In the coming months, Jimenez noted that he plans to consult with local stakeholder groups, such as the Bailey’s Crossroads 7 Corners Revitalization Corporation, to help identify projects that need immediate attention.
“We’ve already identified several initiatives — obviously Seven Corners, Bailey’s Crossroads and Annandale — that need help,” he said. “They need signage and they need timers and they need different ways to make sure that pedestrians are safe.”
Fairfax County is creating commercial profiles of different neighborhoods to guide future economic development and placemaking.
At an economic initiatives committee meeting on Dec. 12, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors discussed a place-led economic development pilot program that will provide snapshots of communities throughout the county.
“It’s really about providing all of us with data driven insights into Fairfax County commercial districts, how that…area is performing and functioning as well as who is being served by the commercial activity,” said Laura Baker, the catalytic development manager for the Fairfax County Department of Economic Initiatives.
In the first phase of the pilot program, staff studied Bailey’s Crossroads and University Mall near Fairfax City. The locations were selected due to their diversity in scale, geography, business characteristics and community, as well as the willingness of stakeholders to take part in the process.
Each template dives into data on users and visitors, retail spending, recent investments, key insights and business highlights.
Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust and Board Chairman Jeff McKay said they were concerned about how the profiles will be updated and what new information they generated — beyond assembling disparate data the county already receives.
“What we don’t want to do is have outdated information out there that kind of works against the marketing of a particular area,” McKay said.
The Bailey’s Crossroads profile, for example, found limited connectivity between the community’s shopping centers, overall healthy commercial performance, and that the population’s median age and income are lower than the rest of the county.
The community also sees strong weekend activity, and there has been a slight increase in visitor growth after the pandemic.
Mike Van Atta, president of BC7RC, a volunteer organization that promotes community revitalization in Bailey’s Crossroads and Seven Corners, said the profiles are particularly helpful because they can guide how partnerships between organizations drive community revitalization.
“Frankly, we think that’s a community health story as much as it is a community development story,” Van Atta said.
McKay noted none of that information was surprising — indicating that the community profiles provided an accurate snapshot.
In phase two, staff plan to study 26 special planning areas — except for those with a specified land use purpose or those that have already been the focus of recent studies.
Baker said Tysons and Reston will likely be excluded from the effort, since they have recently updated comprehensive plans and existing organizations, such as the Tysons Community Alliance and Partnership Reston, that focus on placemaking.
“There’s already a lot of transformation happening there,” she said.
County staff also plan to take a look at an additional 86 shopping centers, like the Pan Am Shopping Center in Merrifield and the Rose Hill Shopping Center.
Mason District Supervisor Penny Gross, whose district includes Bailey’s Crossroads, said she wants to see a dedicated section to vision in the profiles and more community integration.
“There’s not the community piece in here and I’m very concerned about that because people are resistant to change,” she said. “They don’t necessarily like what’s there now, but they don’t want much new.”
Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn said the community pieces come from the county’s comprehensive plan — which was created with significant input.
“The comprehensive plan really is a document that is highly integrated with the community, and the community in all cases have been involved in the development of that,” he said.
In the coming months, staff will finalize the template for the profiles and criteria to determine exactly which areas are studied before issuing a request for proposals. The second phase will likely begin in the first quarter of 2024.
Image via Google Maps
An explosion that occurred while firefighters were putting out a blaze at Build America Plaza in Bailey’s Crossroads in early November was caused by a backdraft, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department says.
Investigators have determined that the fire and “dramatic” explosion were accidental, resulting from degraded power lines that arced and sparked an “underground fire involving the insulation of adjacent communication lines,” the FCFRD reported today (Tuesday).
Firefighters were called to the shopping center at 3819 South George Mason Drive around 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 7 after 911 received reports of smoke in one of the commercial buildings.
“Crews arrived to find smoke in the building with no fire showing,” the fire department said, describing the incident as a “utility emergency.”
The building was evacuated, but when firefighters opened a door to a shed that appeared to be the source of the smoke, a fiery explosion engulfed them. Sharing a video of the incident, the FCFRD confirmed that the firefighters were okay.
No firefighter or civilian injuries were reported.
This evening #FCFRD responded to a utility emergency in the 3800 blk of S George Mason Dr. An explosion occurred while crews were working. Thankfully, our firefighter is okay. FCFRD FFs put their lives on the line everyday to protect the lives & property of @fairfaxcounty. pic.twitter.com/Odp5tBGz9C
— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) November 8, 2023
Photo via FCFRD/Twitter
