The Fairfax County Police Department’s motor squad encountered an emergency of its own while responding to an incident early this afternoon.
A motorcycle officer was seriously injured in a collision with a Jeep on Braddock Road that police believe was attempting to get out of the squad’s way, FCPD Public Affairs Bureau Commander Lt. Dan Spital said at a media briefing.
“Our officer had serious injuries,” Spital said. “At this point, he’s conscious and alert. We’re praying first for recovery for him, but we’re lucky it wasn’t more serious than it could’ve been.”
According to Spital, the motor officers were traveling west on Braddock near George Mason University’s Fairfax campus in response to an emergency situation elsewhere in Fairfax County.
When they passed through the Roanoke River Road intersection shortly after 12:30 p.m., a silver Jeep in the middle lane noticed the police lights and sirens and started to merge into the right lane, where two officers were riding.
“One of the officers was able to avoid the vehicle that cut in front of them. Unfortunately, one of our motor officers was unable to avoid a collision,” Spital said. “A motor officer did strike the back of a Jeep and was thrown from his motorcycle, and he hit the pavement.”
Officers are on scene of crash involving an FCPD motor officer at Braddock Rd & Roanoke River Rd. Officer taken to hospital with serious injuries. Braddock Rd is closed. Please use another route. pic.twitter.com/UT8Hfq7PbR
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) December 9, 2022
The injured officer was transported to a hospital, where police say his condition has stabilized. He is a veteran of the FCPD motor squad with at least 16 to 17 years of experience in the department, according to Spital.
Spital said the Jeep driver remained at the scene and is cooperating with the investigation. Police are also interviewing other witnesses to the crash to determine the circumstances that led up to it, though the FCPD seems to preliminarily believe that the driver wasn’t intentionally cutting off its officers.
Police haven’t determined yet whether the driver is a GMU student or why they were traveling in the area.
“Before we can make any determination on fault at this point, we do have to make sure that everybody is interviewed and we come up with a larger picture of exactly what took place,” Spital said.
Spital said he’s “not aware” of the Braddock/Roanoke River intersection being considered dangerous. Virginia data shows one other crash there this year in January and multiple crashes with injuries in previous years, but no fatalities have been reported since the interactive data report began in 2010.
A 79-year-old driver who crashed into a motorcyclist in Fair Oaks last month, resulting in the biker’s death, is now facing criminal charges.
Detectives have determined that Fairfax resident Mazher Rajput did not yield to a 2018 Yamaha MT07 motorcycle when attempting to turn left from West Ox Road onto Ox Hill Road on Oct. 25, the Fairfax County Police Department said in a news release yesterday.
The allegation deviates slightly from the FCPD’s original characterization of the crash:
Preliminarily, detectives from our Crash Reconstruction Unit determined the operator of the motorcycle, Andrew Dearing, was traveling south on West Ox Road in the left lane. The driver of the Jeep was in the northbound turn lane on West Ox Road waiting to turn left onto Ox Hill Road. The motorcycle proceeded straight through the intersection from the southbound left lane and struck the Jeep. The Jeep continued through the intersection, struck a pedestrian signal and collided with a 2013 Lexus GS350. The Jeep spun around and struck the Lexus a second time before coming to a rest.
Dearing, died at a hospital after being thrown from his bike. He was the 14th non-pedestrian killed in a traffic crash on Fairfax County roads this year, a number that has climbed in the past month to 18.
After further investigation, police now have charged Rajput with failing to yield when turning left and failure to abide by a traffic light.
Magistrate summons have been served to Rajput, who is scheduled to appear in court in January, the FCPD says.
Photo via Google Maps
An Alexandria man was convicted today (Thursday) for driving more than 100 mph and severely injuring a motorcyclist on the George Washington Memorial Parkway.
Menyelek Maynard, 26, was driving his Toyota Camry at more than double the speed limit on April 8 when he hit a 20-year-old motorcyclist, according to court records.
The victim, who was not identified, was sent “flying more than 30 feet through the air,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
The victim’s left leg was amputated below his knee as a result of the crash. Steel rods were also inserted in both his arms and back
“Maynard rolled his own vehicle multiple times, narrowly missing pedestrians in the Parkway’s footpath before coming to rest upside down in the Potomac River,” according to the release.
Maynard faces a maximum penalty of a decade in prison. He is set for sentencing on Jan. 24.
(Updated at 11:55 a.m.) Virginia State Police are investigating a fatal motorcycle crash that occurred on I-495 South in the Annandale area last Friday (Sept. 23), the agency announced today (Thursday).
According to police, 25-year-old Carlos Javier Velez Mantalvo from Orlando, Florida, was riding a 2006 Honda CBR600 motorcycle, going south on I-495 early that morning.
Near the Gallows Road exit, which leads to the Inova Fairfax Hospital campus, Velez Montalvo “rapidly” reduced his speed, “lost control and laid the motorcycle down in the roadway,” state police said.
“The operator then slid across the pavement away from the motorcycle,” VSP said in a news release.
Police responded to the crash at 2:02 a.m. Velez Montalvo was transported to the nearby hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries.
Police say he was wearing a helmet when the motorcycle crashed.
Photo via Google Maps
A man from Lorton was killed in a motorcycle crash in Fairfax Station on Saturday evening (August 13).
Abdul Lee, 43, was headed east on Henderson Road when his motorcycle crossed a double yellow center line near Devereux Station Lane and collided head on with a 2010 Grand Cherokee, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.
The driver of the Grand Cherokee was not injured and remained on the scene.
Preliminarily, detectives do not believe that alcohol was a factor in the crash. An investigation is underway to determine if speed was a factor.
This is the 10th non-pedestrian fatality in the county so far this year, according to police, surpassing the six such fatalities reported by this point in 2021. Including Lee, at least four motorcyclists have died in crashes so far in 2022.
Here’s more from FCPD on how to provide information about the crash, which happened at around 5:50 p.m.:
Anyone with information about this crash is asked to contact our Crash Reconstruction Unit at 703-280-0543. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Solvers by phone – 1-866-411-TIPS (866-411-8477), and by web – Click HERE. Download the ‘P3 Tips’ App and follow the steps to “Fairfax Co Crime Solvers”. Anonymous tipsters are eligible for cash rewards of $100 to $1,000 dollars. Please leave contact information if you wish for a detective to follow up with you.
Officers are on scene of a fatal motorcycle crash at Henderson Rd & Devereux Station Ln, Fairfax Station. Prelim, motorcycle collided head on w/vehicle near intersection. Motorcyclist, adult man, pronounced deceased at scene. Henderson Rd closed as detectives respond. pic.twitter.com/s75yGrkQVs
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) August 13, 2022
Photo via Google Maps
A motorcyclist has died after crashing on Braddock Road near the Fairfax area almost a month ago, the Fairfax County Police Department announced yesterday (Wednesday).
Sterling resident Brian Perry was riding a 2007 Kawasaki motorcycle, traveling east on Braddock on June 29. Around 6:17 p.m., he reached a section of road near the Fairfax County Parkway intersection that transitioned from pavement to milled asphalt, lost control of the bike and crashed, police say.
“Perry was taken to a hospital and on July 12 succumbed to his injuries,” the FCPD said. He was 63 years old.
The crash remains under investigation by the department’s Crash Reconstruction Unit detectives, but speed and alcohol are not believed to have been factors in the crash.
Perry is the seventh non-pedestrian to die from a vehicle crash in Fairfax County this year, according to the FCPD. The county had recorded five such fatalities by this point in 2021.
This year’s sixth non-pedestrian fatality was also a motorcyclist. The crash occurred on July 3 when Nema Mirsaeedi, 31, of Springfield was thrown from his bike upon colliding with a car on Burke Center Parkway.
On May 22, a motorcyclist was hospitalized by a crash with a vehicle at the intersection of Braddock Road and Second Road in the Fairfax area.
The FCPD says anyone with information about the June 29 crash can contact the Crash Reconstruction Unit at 703-280-0543. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Solvers by phone (1-866-411-TIPS) and online.
“Anonymous tipsters are eligible for cash rewards of $100 to $1,000 dollars,” the FCPD said. “Please leave contact information if you wish for a detective to follow up with you.”
Springfield Motorcyclist Dies After Burke Crash — Becoming the sixth non-pedestrian killed in a vehicle crash this year, Nema Mirsaeedi, 31, of Springfield died yesterday after being thrown from his motorcycle in a crash with a car attempting to turn into a shopping center on Burke Center Parkway. The crash occurred at 6:39 p.m. on Sunday (July 3) and remains under investigation. [FCPD]
County Responds to Supreme Court Security Request — “Supreme Court Marshal Gail Curley originally penned the letter, asking that state and local law enforce their respective picketing laws near the homes of Supreme Court justices…Fairfax County officials say they already received the letter and that their stance remained unchanged.” [WTOP]
FCPS Officially Has New Superintendent — “Michelle Reid, Ed.D. was sworn in as the superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools on Thursday, June 30, at Luther Jackson Middle School. Her term begins Friday, July 1. ‘It’s important for me to remember that learning happens best in community, and this is an amazing community,’ said Dr. Reid.” [FCPS]
Hiker Injured Falling Off Great Falls Ledge — “On Saturday, at 2:31 p.m., units were dispatched to 9200 Old Dominion Drive for an injured hiker. Hiker fell 40 feet down a steep rocky ledge. Crews fully immobilized and carried person out via stokes basket to Fairfax County Police Department helicopter. Transported with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.” [FCFRD/Facebook]
Fairfax History Commission Seeks More Resources — “Commission Chairman Cheryl Repetti, who delivered the group’s annual report to the Board of Supervisors June 28, asked supervisors to finance a full-time staff member and allot extra county staff hours to help fulfill the board’s requests of the commission.” [Sun Gazette]
South Lakes HS Stadium Closed — “Hey Seahawks…Our stadium is CLOSED while we make some improvements to it. The turf is being replaced & the bleachers are getting a minor upgrade. Should take a month. Thanks for your patience.” [South Lakes Athletics & Activities/Twitter]
Longtime McLean Postal Workers Retire — “[Scott] Arnold and his best friend in the Postal Service, Rob Receveur, both had served McLean for years, and this past week, both were celebrated as they hung up their mailbags…It’s hard to quantify Arnold’s legacy, but you can sense his effect by how the neighborhood’s residents have shifted their lives to remain close to him.” [The Washington Post]
Firefighter Adopts Rescued Kitten — “May 28, Tower 424 and Tech Austin Adams rescued kitten out of a tree. Kitten was very young. @FairfaxCountyPD Animal Protection took him to @fairfaxanimals. Tech Adams kept in touch. Thursday, he and his wife adopted kitten — now named Ash!” [FCFRD/Twitter]
Virginia Shares Data on Firearm Injuries — “The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) launched a new data dashboard on firearm injuries in Virginia showing the number and rate of emergency department (ED) visits from 2016 to 2022. The dashboard shows firearm injury data by year, health district, age group, sex, and race/ethnicity across Virginia.” [VDH]
It’s Tuesday — Rain in the evening. High of 84 and low of 71. Sunrise at 5:51 am and sunset at 8:39 pm. [Weather.gov]
