Updated: 11:45 a.m.
RESTON, VA — A 16-year-old student was taken to a hospital with minor injuries Tuesday morning after being struck by a vehicle while walking to South Lakes High School, an incident that has intensified an ongoing dispute over Fairfax County's decision to eliminate crossing guards at high schools.
Fairfax County Police said officers responded to South Lakes High School at 7:54 a.m. Tuesday. A preliminary investigation found that a driver struck the student as the teen was walking to school. The driver remained at the scene.
Police stressed that the student was not in a crosswalk and was not at a location that had ever been assigned a crossing guard. Officers continue to investigate the crash.
The driver was charged with failure to stop before entering a highway, which is a traffic infraction and punishable by a fine, under the Code of Virginia.
Fairfax County School Board Member Melanie Meren, who represents the Hunter Mill District, said Tuesday's crash underscores concerns she has been raising since the Board of Supervisors eliminated the remaining high school crossing guards.
Meren told Patch she has visited South Lakes every day since the school year began, observing traffic during morning arrivals on most days and during dismissal on others.
"This cutting of the high school crossing guards was basically the last installment of a multi-year plan to remove crossing guards at high schools," Meren told Patch. "These were the remaining crossing guards, and I started objecting to this in the last fiscal year."
Meren described the area around South Lakes as particularly challenging, with multiple lanes of traffic, trucks, school buses, cyclists and roughly 2,000 students arriving at the school.
"Our children have a right to the same public safety services as any adult anywhere in this county," she said.
Meren disputed the significance of the police department's statement that Tuesday's crash occurred away from a location previously staffed by a crossing guard. She argued that a guard stationed farther up the road affects the overall flow of traffic and creates openings for pedestrians elsewhere along the road.
"The traffic guard that's at where they were stationed, they make the traffic flow so that it ripples down the road," Meren said.
She also pointed to conditions along the sidewalk, including limited visibility caused by vegetation, as broader safety concerns. Meren said FCPS staff cleared brush near a pedestrian sign during the first week of school and that Reston Association subsequently checked areas bordering its property and cleared vegetation that could impede visibility.
Meren said the question is not whether high school students are old enough to cross streets without assistance.
"My footage shows this is not an age issue," she said. "It's an issue for anyone trying to move through this intersection in a car, on foot, on a bicycle."
She also challenged the county's comparison of Fairfax with neighboring jurisdictions that do not provide crossing guards at high schools.
"Fairfax County is an urban community," Meren said, arguing its size and traffic conditions make comparisons with smaller jurisdictions inappropriate. "Intersections at schools — that's a no-brainer. Let's make them as safe as possible, and then let's use data and information to make decisions about what else is needed."
Tuesday's crash occurred a week after the Board of Supervisors held an extended discussion about the consequences of eliminating high school crossing guards.
At that meeting, supervisors unanimously directed county staff to examine problems resulting from the removal of high school crossing guards and determine what resources might be necessary to address them. The motion evolved during the discussion into a two-tiered review: urgent safety problems could be brought back to supervisors quickly, while a broader assessment would take place over a longer period.
The original proposal also contemplated setting aside $400,000 during the county's 2026 Carryover Review. That amount was removed from the motion after Chairman Jeff McKay (D-At-Large) questioned including a specific figure before staff had determined how much money might be necessary. The proposal's sponsor said he would instead submit the $400,000 request separately as a consideration item.
Also See ...
During the discussion, McKay strongly defended the original budget decision.
"I don't want people thinking that this was considered in isolation of all the other needs in the county," McKay said. He said police had surveyed the affected high schools and provided recommendations for improving traffic flow and safety.
McKay also said Fairfax was the only Northern Virginia county providing crossing guards at high schools and argued that pedestrian education, infrastructure and other safety measures need to be part of the solution.
"What I have heard from the police is most of the incidents that occur in and around schools would not have been prevented with a crossing guard present," McKay said.
He said the county's decision was based on crash data, pedestrian safety analysis and studies reviewed by police before the department recommended eliminating high school guards.
Supervisor Jimmy Bierman (D-Dranesville) also defended the decision, saying neighboring jurisdictions safely operate high schools along busy roads without crossing guards. While supporting the request for more information, Bierman said he did not believe eliminating high school guards was a mistake.
Other supervisors expressed more concern. Supervisor Rodney Lusk (D-Franconia) said he had reservations about the reduction during the budget process and supported examining whether particular high schools might require guards because of their individual safety conditions.
"I would not say by fiat that we should go ahead and restore funding to all the high schools for crossing guards," Lusk said, "but there could be in the analysis a determination that we need to look at specific high schools because of safety considerations."
Supervisor Dalia Palchik (D-Providence) called for a broader review involving police, FCPS and transportation officials, arguing that crossing guards are only one component of school pedestrian safety.
Ultimately, supervisors agreed that any critical safety problems identified before the Sept. 15 carryover review should be reported quickly, while staff conducts a more comprehensive examination of conditions at county high schools and the county's transition to contracted crossing guards at other schools. The motion passed without opposition. Fairfax County Board Meeting
Tuesday's crash came on the seventh school day, according to Meren.
"A student got hit by a car at South Lakes High School today, day seven," Meren said in a statement shortly after the crash. "Is it time yet, Jeff McKay? Is it time yet for a crossing guard at our high schools to protect our children and residents?"
Patch reached out to McKay's office Tuesday morning for comment on the crash and Meren's call to restore high school crossing guards. This story will be updated once a response has been received.
Sign up for free local newsletters and alerts for the
Reston Patch
Patch.com is the nationwide leader in hyperlocal news.
Visit Patch.com to find your town today.