The suspected driver in a crash that killed a pedestrian in Bailey’s Crossroads last month is now facing additional charges.

The Fairfax County Police Department announced today that 33-year-old Woodbridge resident Benjamin Lopez Encinas has been charged with aggravated DWI manslaughter and felony hit and run.

“Yesterday, detectives served the warrants on Lopez Encinas who remains held without bond,” the FCPD said.

Lopez Encinas had already been charged with a driving under the influence of alcohol for allegedly hitting and killing 26-year-old Luis Fernando Jimenez Rodriguez on July 8.

According to police, Lopez Encinas was driving east on Columbia Pike in a 2010 BMW when he hit Jimenez Rodriguez at the Powell Lane intersection.

Lopez Encinas didn’t stop at the crash site, but officers later located his vehicle in the 6100 block of Marshall Drive. Scanner traffic indicated that the vehicle was identified by blood on its front bumper.

The Woodbridge resident remains in custody at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. After an arraignment on Friday (Aug. 11), he’s scheduled to appear in court for an adjudicatory hearing on the original, misdemeanor DWI charge on Aug. 31 and a preliminary hearing on the new felony charges on Oct. 25, according to court records.

Jimenez Rodriguez was the fifth pedestrian to die in a vehicle crash on Fairfax County roads this year. Since then, the total number of pedestrian fatalities has climbed to seven, according to the FCPD, with 86-year-old McLean resident Brigitte Forster as the most recent victim.

Image via Google Maps

Updated at 6:15 p.m. on 8/13/2023 — The pedestrian in Friday morning’s crash was 86-year-old Brigitte Forster of McLean, Fairfax County police say.

The driver of the 2009 Toyota Sienna that hit her was turning left onto northbound Kirby Road from the Sylvestry at Vinson Hall parking lot when they “cut the turn short and entered the southbound lanes,” according to the police.

Updated at 9:50 a.m. — Kirby Road has reopened after this morning’s fatal crash, police say.

Earlier: A woman has died after a vehicle hit her while she was crossing Kirby Road in McLean.

Fairfax County police officers are investigating the scene at Kirby Road and Old Dominion Drive next to the Chesterbrook United Methodist Church, the department said at 7:12 a.m.

“Traffic being diverted at Kirby Rd & Old Dominion Dr. Follow officer direction,” the Fairfax County Police Department tweeted.

According to scanner traffic on Open MHz, a police dispatcher reported at 6:05 a.m. that there was a crash with an injury at 1733 Kirby Road, stating that the victim may be trapped under a minivan, but those details hadn’t been confirmed yet.

A Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department unit with a medic was also dispatched to the scene. The minivan driver remained on the scene, a dispatcher said at 6:08 a.m.

“It would appear that the victim was struck in a crosswalk on Kirby Road,” an officer said at 6:32 a.m. The crosswalk at that intersection crosses Kirby right at the top of a ramp from Old Dominion.

The woman was transported to the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, where she died at 6:39 a.m., according to scanner traffic.

Officers are on scene of a fatal pedestrian crash at Kirby Rd & Old Dominion Dr in McLean. Driver of a vehicle struck an adult woman. Woman declared deceased. The driver remained on scene. Traffic being diverted at Kirby Rd & Old Dominion Dr. Follow officer direction. #FCPD pic.twitter.com/9PtUG1vTW3

— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) August 11, 2023

This appears to be the sixth fatal pedestrian crash in Fairfax County so far this year, following a crash involving a possibly intoxicated driver on Columbia Pike in Bailey’s Crossroads on June 8. The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles’ crash database, which has records dating back to 2010, doesn’t show any previous incidents at Kirby and Old Dominion.

Image via Google Maps

Updated at 8:50 p.m. — Franconia-Springfield Parkway has reopened after a driver hit a pedestrian earlier this evening.

Earlier: A pedestrian has been hospitalized after a vehicle crash on Franconia-Springfield Parkway in Springfield.

All westbound lanes have been closed to traffic at Spring Village Drive, according to police.

“The adult man was taken to the hospital in life-threatening condition,” the Fairfax County Police Department said shortly after 6 p.m.

According to scanner traffic, medics were dispatched to the scene around 5:29 p.m. A dispatcher reported at 5:30 p.m. reported that “someone hit a pedestrian that was crossing the road.”

Update: Our Crash Reconstruction Unit detectives are on scene to investigate the crash. The road remains closed while the investigation continues. pic.twitter.com/C1EHfSgxv6

— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) July 12, 2023

Pedestrians were casualties of two separate vehicle crashes this past weekend, Fairfax County police reported.

A 26-year-old pedestrian was killed early Saturday morning (July 8) in Bailey’s Crossroads by an apparently intoxicated driver, and then, early this morning (Monday), a man was taken to the hospital after a crash on Fairfax County Parkway and Stringfellow Road in Chantilly.

The man wasn’t considered to be in life-threatening condition, but police described the crash as “serious” in a 12:06 a.m. tweet.

Officers are on scene of a serious car crash involving a pedestrian at Fairfax County Pkwy and Stringfellow Road. An adult male pedestrian was taken to the hospital in non-life-threatening condition. The road will remain closed while the investigation continues. #FCPD pic.twitter.com/tbqkdR3Axb

— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) July 10, 2023

For the fatal crash, eastbound Columbia Pike was shut down for an extended period after the driver of a 2010 BMW hit Luis Fernando Jimenez Rodriguez at the Columbia Pike and Powell Lane around 2:13 a.m., according to the Fairfax County Police Department.

“Preliminarily, detectives determined that the driver of a 2010 BMW was traveling eastbound on Columbia Pike near Lincolnia Road when it struck a pedestrian,” the FCPD said.

The driver didn’t stop at the scene, police said. An officer who first arrived at the scene told a dispatcher that track marks stretched all the way to Barcroft Plaza, according to scanner traffic on Open MHz.

Police found the BMW in the 6100 block of Marshall Drive. Per the scanner, an officer identified it as the vehicle because he found blood on the front bumper.

The vehicle owner and alleged driver was Benjamin Lopez Encinas, 33, of Woodbridge, according to the FCPD.

Encinas has been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and is now in custody at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.

“Detectives continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding this crash,” the FCPD said.

Rodriguez appears to be the fifth pedestrian killed in Fairfax County this year, according to Virginia crash data, which shows that there were 16 pedestrian fatalities through July in 2022.

Concerns about the safety of Columbia Pike, which has now been the site of at least nine fatal crashes since 2010, have prompted Fairfax County to pursue some improvements, including a crossing beacon at the intersection where Justice High School student Lesly Diaz-Bonilla was killed in November.

An 18-year-old man from Alexandria has been charged with reckless driving after allegedly crashing into a pedestrian on Richmond Highway in March, killing her.

Shortly before 9:30 p.m. on March 30, Luis Merino Berrios was driving south on Richmond Highway in a 2007 Mercedes C230 when he lost control near Groveton Street, a change from the originally reported location of Clayborne Avenue.

From the Fairfax County Police Department:

The driver of a 2017 Jeep Wrangler attempted to make a left turn from northbound Richmond Highway onto Groveton Street. Detectives determined Berrios was traveling at an excessive speed. He attempted avoidance maneuvers, lost control of his Mercedes, and struck the Jeep Wrangler. Berrios’s vehicle spun several times before leaving the roadway striking Samantha Jennings-Jones who was walking on the sidewalk.

Jennings-Jones was declared dead at the scene. She was 36.

Berrios was charged today (Thursday) and released on a summons, which means he’s still legally allowed to drive, the FCPD said.

Police said they didn’t have the exact speed Berrios was driving, but it was “excessive” for that section of Richmond Highway, which had a 45 mph speed limit.

Starting on Tuesday (May 23), the speed limit will be dropped to 35 mph in response to years of concerns about the roadway’s safety. Another pedestrian was killed on Route 1 just a week after Jennings-Jones died, and earlier this month, a motorcyclist was killed in the Lorton area.

According to her obituary, Jennings-Jones was working in the White House Office of the National Cyber Directorate when she died. She had a husband and two cats.

“Sam was a firm believer that friends are the family you choose, and she will be missed by the many friends and colleagues whose lives she touched and was such a big part of,” the obituary said.

Photo via Google Maps

The driver of a Fairfax County Fire and Rescue engine who struck and killed a woman on Glade Drive in Reston did not see the woman lying in the roadway, police say.

Preliminarily, investigators believe that speed was not a factor in the crash, which happened shortly after 2:18 am yesterday (Monday), the Fairfax County Police Department said in a news release.

According to the FCPD, the police and fire departments received a call that a woman who appeared to be intoxicated was lying on the ground west of Laurel Glade Court. The officer who arrived first at the scene did not see the woman lying in the roadway, passing her to talk to the person who made the 911 call.

The driver of the fire engine followed the officer. The captain saw the woman and “immediately” called on the engine to stop and turn, but the driver was unable to avoid the crash, police said.

“Fire and rescue personnel immediately began to provide advanced medical care,” the FCPD said.

The woman was identified as Ashley Boardman, 23, of Middleburg. She was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

Police say they are still investigating “if drugs or alcohol were factors for Boardman,” who had reportedly been found unconscious by the caller, according to the initial police dispatch.

Boardman is now the fourth pedestrian to be killed on Fairfax County roads this year. At this time in 2022, there had been six fatal pedestrian crashes, per the FCPD.

As @FairfaxCountyPD releases more information about this morning fatal pedestrian event, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department extends our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Ms. Boardman. https://t.co/x7A38IAmc5 pic.twitter.com/mxLSZmD2Pf

— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) May 8, 2023

A pedestrian was killed after being run over by a fire engine near the Reston Glade Apartments early this morning (Monday).

A medical unit with the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department was dispatched to Glade Drive at Dosnia Court near Dogwood Elementary School for a medical emergency around 2:19 a.m., according to scanner traffic on Open MHz.

Around the same time, Fairfax County police officers were dispatched to Dogwood Elementary School for a “suspicious person” after a caller reported an apparently unconscious woman on the ground.

At 2:24 a.m., a fire department responder told the dispatcher that the “patient’s in the road, run over by engine 31. Appears to be DOA.”

A police officer said at 2:30 a.m. that the road would need to be shut down.

“The fire truck actually struck this individual,” the officer said.

Detectives with the FCPD’s Crash Reconstruction Unit were sent to the scene of what it described as a “fatal pedestrian crash involving @ffxfirerescue,” the department tweeted shortly after 4 a.m.

Glade Drive was closed for over an hour between Laurel Glade Drive and Rosedown Drive.

The roadway is open. Follow our blog for future updates. https://t.co/YUigMm3yDx

— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) May 8, 2023

(Updated at 7:55 p.m.) A pedestrian was killed this morning (Friday) in a crash on Richmond Highway (Route 1) near Fairfax County Parkway in the Fort Belvoir area.

Phillip Hester, 62, was walking on Richmond Highway at Anderson Lane when the driver of a 2008 Chevrolet Impala headed south hit him at 5:57 a.m., the Fairfax County Police Department reported.

Hester was then struck a second time by a 2014 Nissan Altima that was also southbound on Route 1, according to police.

“Both drivers remained at the scene,” the FCPD said. “Hester was declared deceased at the scene. Preliminary, speed and alcohol do not appear to be a factor for the drivers in the crash.”

Police say Hester was not in a crosswalk when the Impala hit him.

The crash prompted a closure of southbound Richmond Highway to the northbound lanes on Fairfax County Parkway. The highway reopened shortly before 10 a.m.

This is the third pedestrian fatality reported in Fairfax County this year and the second on Richmond Highway. At this point in 2022, the FCPD had recorded five pedestrian deaths.

The county has been studying options for improving Fairfax County Parkway down to the Route 1 intersection, finding that pedestrian and bicyclist facilities along the corridor are inadequate. The Board of Supervisors approved changes to the comprehensive plan for the roadway on March 21.

Southbound Richmond Hwy to northbound Fairfax County Pkwy is closed. Expect traffic delays. Please use an alternate route. #FCPD

— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) April 7, 2023

(Updated at 1:25 p.m.) A 36-year-old Alexandria woman was killed last night (Thursday) after a driver who may have been speeding down Richmond Highway (Route 1) careened into her.

Samantha Jennings-Jones was walking on the sidewalk when a 2007 Mercedes C230 sedan hit her at 9:22 p.m. near the Clayborne Avenue intersection in Groveton, Fairfax County police said in a news release published today (Friday).

Based on a preliminary investigation, police say the Mercedes driver was headed south on Richmond Highway when they collided with a northbound 2017 Jeep Wrangler that was “attempting to make a left onto Clayborne Avenue.”

“The driver of the Mercedes struck the Jeep, left the roadway and spun around before striking Samantha Jennings-Jones,” the Fairfax County Police Department said.

Jennings-Jones died at the scene. She is the second pedestrian to be killed in a vehicle crash within the past seven days after Falls Church resident Ana Julia Acosta De Ostorga was hit while crossing Wilson Blvd in Seven Corners last Friday (March 24).

Prior to that crash, Fairfax County hadn’t seen any pedestrian fatalities in 2023. By this time last year, the FCPD had recorded five pedestrian-related fatal crashes.

“Preliminarily, speed appears to be a factor for the driver of the Mercedes in the crash. Detectives do not believe alcohol to be a factor,” the police department said regarding yesterday’s crash.

As they prepare to present details of the investigation to prosecutors for potential charges, police are still seeking additional information about the crash from community members.

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 “Fairfax Co Crime Solvers”. Anonymous tipsters are eligible for cash rewards. Please leave contact information if you wish for a detective to follow up with you.

According to state data, there have now been 10 fatal crashes involving pedestrians on Richmond Highway since 2020.

Photo via Google Maps

(Updated at 2:30 p.m.) The Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) is investigating a crash in Seven Corners where they say a pedestrian was killed.

Police said a driver struck an adult woman at 6:18 a.m. in the intersection of Wilson Blvd and John Marshall Drive in Seven Corners. She was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced deceased.

The driver remained on scene, according to FCPD, and the scene is being investigated by the Crash Reconstruction Unit.

Based on a preliminary investigation, police say that the pedestrian — identified as Ana Julia Acosta De Ostorga, 58, of Falls Church — was crossing Wilson Blvd “in an unknown direction, in or near the pedestrian crossing” when she was hit by a 2003 Honda Accord driver traveling west.

The FCPD hasn’t identified the driver but says “speed and alcohol do not appear to be factors for the driver in the crash.”

Westbound Wilson Blvd reopened around noon after being shut down between John Marshall Drive and Peyton Randolph Drive.

This appears to be the first pedestrian fatality in Fairfax County this year. According to the FCPD, four pedestrians had been killed on county roads by this time in 2022, which saw 32 pedestrian deaths by the end of the year — the highest number since at least 2010.

Officers are on scene of a fatal pedestrian crash at Wilson Blvd & John Marshall Dr in Seven Corners. Adult female taken to hospital & pronounced deceased. Driver remained on scene. Detectives from our Crash Reconstruction Unit are responding. Please use an alternate route. pic.twitter.com/iJBzLH3YNM

— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) March 24, 2023

Image via Google Maps