A driver nearly hit one vehicle, rammed into a Virginia State Police trooper’s vehicle, and crashed into a third vehicle head-on during a police pursuit last night (Thursday) that extended from I-395 in Arlington to South Kings Highway in Groveton.
According to state police, a trooper saw a vehicle headed northbound on I-395 nearly hit another vehicle traveling in the same direction around 10:27 p.m. yesterday. When the trooper attempted to make a traffic stop, the vehicle instead “sped away,” a news release says.
As the pursuit continued east onto the Capital Beltway (I-495), the trooper learned that Fairfax County police were searching for the vehicle in question, which had been reported stolen in the county.
“The suspect vehicle exited I-495 at Telegraph [Road] and continued through Fairfax County,” the VSP said. “At one point, the suspect vehicle intentionally rammed the trooper’s vehicle and continued to flee.”
After exiting the Beltway, the chase turned onto South Kings Highway. As it neared Telegraph Road, the pursued vehicle “struck the raised median and crossed into oncoming traffic where it struck head-on another vehicle,” according to the news release.
“The impact of the crash caused the suspect vehicle to overturn twice before coming to rest on its side,” state police said.
The pursued vehicle’s driver, an adult man, was transported to Fairfax Inova Hospital for treatment of injuries that VSP described as serious, while the driver of the vehicle that was hit went to the hospital with minor injuries.
No injuries to state police were reported.
An investigation into the incident is underway with charges forthcoming, VSP said.
(Updated at 10:15 a.m. on 9/2/2022) Fairfax County police have arrested four people after chasing a vehicle on Route 1 that was allegedly stolen.
The north left shoulder, left lane, and center lane of Route 1 (also known as Richmond Highway) were closed today (Thursday) at the Fort Hunt Road intersection in Belle Haven, just south of the Capital Beltway, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation’s traffic information site.
According to the county police department, an officer spotted a vehicle going north on Route 1 that had been reported stolen in a Prince George’s County carjacking. When the officer attempted a traffic stop near Fort Hunt Road, the “car did not stop and continued to drive away,” a spokesperson said.
The resulting pursuit ended in the Huntington Avenue area when the officer deployed a Precision Immobilization Technique, a manuever for stopping high-speed vehicles that the FCPD pioneered but has been criticized as risky.
The move prompted the car to roll over into southbound Route 1 traffic, police told FFXnow.
Four occupants of the vehicle were taken into custody and transported to a hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening, according to police. No officers were injured.
The FCPD is advising community members to avoid the area.
The department will identify those arrested — all of them adults — and announce charges tomorrow (Friday).
Officers are in area of Richmond Hwy & Huntington Rd after pursuing a stolen vehicle. Officer used Precision Immobilization Technique to stop the car. 4 occupants in custody & transported w/non-life-threatening inj. Officers are ok. Please avoid area. #FCPD pic.twitter.com/F2TMIjPe1s
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) September 1, 2022
A Maryland driver has been arrested after leading police on an extended chase down the Capital Beltway yesterday (Monday) that crossed state lines and ended with a car flip in Tysons.
According to Montgomery County police, its officers were on the lookout for 26-year-old Frederick K. Njihia of Germantown after getting a report of a man shooting a rifle at people, including a local sanitation worker whose vehicle was hit multiple times.
No one was injured in the shooting, which occurred around 9:20 a.m., the Montgomery County Department of Police said.
The pursuit began when an officer spotted a blue Honda Civic matching the reported description of Njihia’s vehicle. Njihia shot at the police cruiser, flattening a front tire, and other officers pursued him on southbound I-270, police said.
A police pursuit that began in a Germantown neighborhood after a Montgomery County Police officer was shot at came to an end in Fairfax, Virginia. No police officers or citizens were injured during this pursuit. The suspect is in custody.
Video Credit : Spencer Deese#mcpnews pic.twitter.com/OHr7VFeRWa— Montgomery County Department of Police (@mcpnews) July 4, 2022
Virginia State Police were notified about the pursuit at approximately 9:41 a.m. and took over once it crossed the American Legion Bridge and entered the state, according to a VSP news release.
Once the Honda Civic passed into Virginia on I-495, it exited onto Route 7 towards Tysons Corner. When it did a U-turn on Route 7 at Route 267/Dulles Toll Road, a Virginia State Police trooper administered a pursuit intervention technique by making contact with the suspect vehicle. The Honda Civic ran off the road, struck the Jersey wall, and overturned onto its roof.
With a pursuit intervention technique, also known as a precision immobilization technique or PIT manuever, police stop a vehicle by running into its rear, causing it to turn and often flip. The move has been the subject of some debate over its safety.
NEW: The end of a lengthy chase from Montgomery Co. to Tysons on Rt 7 at 267. @VSPPIO ended it by purposely crashing into the vehicle with a PIT (pursuit intervention technique) after suspect made a U-turn on 7. #police @CordellTraffic @RealTimeNews10 @marykimm @TomJackmanWP pic.twitter.com/twSbGzprb5
— Dave Statter (@STATter911) July 4, 2022
POLICE CHASE: Montgomery County police say a man w/ a gun in Germantown fired shots at an officer, then led them on a chase down 270, over the American Legion Bridge onto 495, then onto route 7 and crashed in the Tyson’s area. We can see the car flipped upside down @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/A2ukN2g0Zn
— Aimee Cho (@AimeeCho4) July 4, 2022
The crash closed all east and westbound lanes on Route 7 and required a medical response, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation. Virginia State Police reported that Njihia was transported to Inova Fairfax Hospital “for treatment of minor injuries sustained when his vehicle overturned.”
The VSP has charged Njihia with eluding police, a felony, and reckless driving, a misdemeanor. He’s currently being detained without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.
Njihia also faces four counts of attempted murder and a count of first-degree assault with a firearm in Maryland.
A man who had been firing a gun from his car while driving around Prince William County led police on a wild chase early this morning often driving in the wrong direction while trying to outrun officers.
The chase began in Prince William County around 1:45 a.m. but soon crossed into Fairfax County. The suspect crashed and overturned his car around 2:18 a.m. near Hooes Road and Newington Forest Ave in the Crosspointe area. But he refused to surrender.
The suspect barricaded himself in his overturned 2015 Cadillac while police retreated and called for reinforcements. Fire/rescue personnel were put on standby at a nearby staging area.
The man finally exited his crashed car around 3:40 a.m. and was taken into custody.
