Arrest Made In 2019 West Falls Church Hit-And-Run

WEST FALLS CHURCH, VA — Fairfax County Police have arrested a driver for a hit-and-run that killed an elderly man in January 2019.

Michael Smith, 30, of Fredericksburg was identified and arrested by Manassas City Police after investigation by Fairfax County detectives. He was charged with felony hit-and-run and is being held without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.

The crash happened on Jan. 18, 2019 when the pedestrian was crossing Arlington Boulevard outside a crosswalk near Summerfield Road. A pickup truck struck the pedestrian and left the scene.

The pedestrian was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead. He was identified as Pericles Apostolou, 93, of Falls Church. An obituary said Apostolou immigrated to the U.S. from Greece, and he and his wife settled in Northern Virginia.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• Elderly Person Killed In West Falls Church Hit-And-Run
• Man Killed In West Falls Church Hit-And-Run Remembered

So far in 2020, there have been five fatal pedestrian crashes in Fairfax County. The latest incident happened on Richmond Highway in Lorton on Tuesday, Feb. 11. Detectives believe the pedestrian was crossing Richmond Highway near the intersection of Giles Run Road when a northbound driver struck him. Police noted rainy conditions and that the pedestrian was not in a crosswalk.

Fairfax County Police are asking for the public's help with unsolved hit-and-run cases. Those cases are a Reston crash that killed a 16-year-old on Dec. 29, 2018, fatal hit-and-run on Leesburg Pike in Tysons on Feb. 26, 2019 and crash injuring a pedestrian in Hybla Valley on Oct. 6, 2019.

Anyone with information about a case is asked to call the Crash Reconstruction Unit at 703-280-0543 or submit a tip through Crime Solvers.