MD Man Arrested After Woman Pushed From Speeding SUV In Arlington

ARLINGTON, VA — Arlington County Police arrested a Maryland man in connection with an incident that occurred on May 15 when a woman was pushed out of an SUV that was traveling on Wilson Blvd. near Ballston.

Willie James Clements, 59, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, was taken into custody on Sept. 2 and charged with aggravated malicious wounding, grand larceny and hit-and-run, according to police. He is being held without bond in the Arlington County Detention Facility.

The woman, Maryna Kapovska, 25, suffered severe injuries in the incident, according to ARLnow. She has been undergoing rehabilitation, according to a GoFundMe page that has raised $50,000 to cover Kapovska’s expenses.

Shortly after 3 a.m. on May 15, police were dispatched to the area of Wilson Boulevard, just west of N. Glebe Rd. A witness told police that she was driving in the area when she saw a "black SUV swerving and traveling at a high rate of speed." The passenger door to the vehicle then opened, and the victim was pushed out onto the roadway, police said.

Police officers found the woman in the road, and medics transported her to an area hospital with serious injuries, according to police.

In their investigation, Arlington County Police learned that earlier in the morning of May 15, the woman requested a ride-share service from the 800 block of Florida Ave. NW in Washington, D.C., to her home in Arlington. While waiting for her driver to arrive, Clements approached, and the woman got into his vehicle and he drove away, police said.

"The suspect was not employed as a rideshare driver and was not operating in a for-hire status," police said.

Arlington County Police said the case remains an active criminal investigation. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit at 703-228-4180 or ACPDTipline@arlingtonva.us. Information may also be reported anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).