2 Dead, 2 Injured: Blake Lane Corridor Crashes Raise Safety Concerns

FAIRFAX, VA — Two separate incidents within a mile of each other in which students from Fairfax County Public Schools were hit by vehicles as they were walking home has focused the community's attention on safety concerns along Blake Lane in the Fairfax.

On June 7, three girls walking along Blake Lane were struck by a BMW after it crashed into a Toyota 4Runner that was turning left onto Five Oaks Road. The SUV had just started its turn, after letting the girls cross the street, when the BMW crashed into its side at a high rate of speed.

Two of the girls died from their injuries and the third remains in the hospital, recovering from non-life-threatening injuries, according to police.

The BMW driver was identified an 18-year-old Fairfax man. He was also taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Once the Crash Reconstruction Unit completes its investigation, police will submit the evidence to the Commonwealth's Attorney to determine what charges, if any, will be made in connection with the crash.

A similar incident occurred earlier that same day on Kingsbridge Drive, which is within a mile of the Blake Lane/Five Oaks Road intersection.

During afternoon dismissal, a student from Mosaic Elementary School was struck by a car as he was crossing the street in the crosswalk near the Nonquitt Drive entrance to the Tudor Hall neighborhood. The boy was taken to the hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

"Two neighbors witnessed the accident," said Maria Cruz-Thaker, a Tudor Hall Community Association board member, in an email to residents. "A soon as they reported it to us, we started conversations with the Providence District office of Supervisor Palchik. We raised the concern of the lack of signs and lack of visibility around the crosswalk."

Cruz-Thaker also told the supervisor about the neighborhood's other traffic-related concerns, including cars racing down Kingsbridge Drive at all hours, illegal parking, poor road conditions, and a lack of police presence.

"I was just completely heartbroken with the incident, the crash of the two young people who lost their lives," Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik told Patch in a phone interview on Friday. "I actually attended both funerals this week."

To start a community dialogue on safety concerns relating to the Blake Lane Corridor, Palchik scheduled a virtual meeting for 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., on Thursday, June 23. The meeting will be live-streamed on Palchik's Facebook and people can register ahead of time for the Zoom meeting. Questions or comments can be emailed to Providence@fairfaxcounty.gov

Related: Oakton High School Community Mourns Loss Of 2 Students Killed In Crash

Palchik confirmed that she was working with the Fairfax County Department of Transportation, Fairfax County Police Department, and Fairfax County Public Schools, to continue to address possible short- and long-term safety improvements for this corridor.

A day after the fatal crash, police officers set up speed zones along Blake Lane and were stopping drivers, reminding them that the speed limit was 35 mph. In addition, a rapid speed sign had been installed at the crosswalk across Blake Lane near Bel Glade Street to indicate how fast drivers were traveling.

"Those are some immediate steps," Palchik said. "Unfortunately, we are very short staffed in our public safety departments right now. We did work with the captains and our police in that area to immediately increase patrols and to put those signs out. We also had them out last year in the northern part of Blake Lake to help reduce speed."

In May 2021, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved the installation of “$200 additional fines for speeding” signs on Blake Lane between Sutton Place and Jermantown Road, following an earlier pedestrian-related crash on the stretch of road north of I-66 and Oakton High School.

Palchik said the county could install similar signs on Blake Lane all the way to Route 29, which would encompass the section of the road where the three girls were hit and where many other Oakton High students walk every day.

"We just need support from each of the neighborhoods along there and then we move forward pretty quickly on having that posted," she said. "Not only is it posted, but it does give police the additional authority to give those additional funds."

Although Fairfax County can address some of the safety concerns with increased enforcement and signage, Virginia Department of Transportation ultimately has authority over the engineering and design of Blake Lane. Any physical changes to improve safety would rely on state cooperation and funding.

"We are working on our pilot program for school safety zones and being able to have speed cameras there," Palchik said. "We have very limited ability that was given by the state a few years ago to do speed cameras in school safety zones and construction zones only."

Last year, the City of Fairfaxinstituted a similar program on Main Street near W.T. Woodson High School and on Jermantown Road near Katherine Johnson Middle School.

Palchik asked county staff to see what could be learned from the city's program and evaluate the area around Oakton High School and Mosaic Elementary to see if they could be included as part of the county's pilot program.