Fatal GW Parkway Crash Prompts Call For Accelerated Traffic Study

FORT HUNT, VA—After a two-vehicle crash turned fatal on the George Washington Memorial Parkway Monday in Fort Hunt, a member of Congress is calling for an accelerated study on safety improvements.

Rep. Don Beyer, who represents the Fort Hunt area, urged the National Park Service to expedite the study analyzing crash data on the George Washington Memorial Parkway. NPS responded that the study looking at vehicular, pedestrian, and bicycle crash data is expected to be completed in October. Officials have been pushing for improvements due to concerns like no traffic lights on the parkway south of Alexandria City.

"Yesterday’s fatal accident is another tragic reminder that GW Parkway needs significant changes to improve safety," said Beyer in a statement. "The history of serious accidents is a major reason why I originally asked the National Park Service to conduct a traffic study and then pushed NPS to expedite it."

The crash happened on the parkway south of Tulane Drive, according to a 5 p.m. alert from the Metropolitan Area Transportation Operations Coordination. WTOP reported that a vehicle struck a taxi head-on. The taxi driver from Springfield was killed. Two people in the taxi and the other vehicle's driver went to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The crash shut down lanes in both directions between approximately 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Monday.

Anyone with information about the crash should contact U.S. Park Police at 202-610-8737 or USPP_tipline@nps.gov.