Report: Fairfax County Police Investigating Hit and Run on Reston Parkway

A woman has undergone emergency surgery for organ damage, a fractured right leg and a broken and dislocated elbow after being struck by a car on Reston Parkway Sunday night at about 6:30 p.m., according to a report by RestonNow.com.

The woman and her daughter reportedly were not walking in the crosswalk and groceries were spilled across the roadway.

Police are looking for the driver of a red sedan that was heading south on the parkway and did not stop.

Over the past three years, more than 400 pedestrians have been struck and injured in crashes on Fairfax County roadways. Last year, eight pedestrians died in Fairfax County. This week, police started a pedestrian safety campaign in Annandale and along Leesburg Pike; they are handing out flyers about using crosswalks and erecting signs asking people to use crosswalks.

On Monday night, a man died of his injuries after being struck by a car while he was crossing Columbia Pike in Annandale.

A Patch reader commented: The intersection at Columbia Pike and John Marr is pedestrian hostile. If you try to cross at the NE side of Chatelain, you run the risk of getting squashed by vehicles that are racing to make a right from John Marr. If you try to cross from the NW side, the stoplight is angled so that you can’t see it.

Street Lights Another problem that often goes unmentioned in hit and runs: The number of street lights that are out across Northern Virginia. Were any street lights out on Columbia Pike or Reston Parkway where the incidents took place?

One commenter on the RestonNow.com story noted:

I noticed that many of the street lights at the various Reston Parkway intersections either do not work or are very dim. Also the street lights that shared a pole with the signal lights at the Wiehle Ave/Center Harbor Road were removed when the signals were replaced, and that intersection is now completely dark. Not sure if the street lights are the responsibility of the Reston Association, VDOT or Dominion, but now with longer nights it is imperative that they work well.

If so, should the county or power company be held responsible when someone gets hit whether or not they are in the crosswalk? Who is responsible for making sure the county’s street lights are repaired or whether a street is lit brightly enough for pedestrians and cars to be able to see each other at night? Doe someone with the county or the power company drive around at night to note the outages or do they solely rely on residents to point out burned out lights? How do residents know whether a street light is going to be repaired?

Here’s how to report an outage

• Dominion Virginia Power: Call 1-866-DOM-HELP (366-4357), TTY 711
  Dominion Virginia Power uses a coding system when responding to repair orders where the problem cannot be resolved on the first visit. If further work is required to correct the problem, a color-coded tag is wrapped around the light post: blue (overhead repair is required), green (underground repair is necessary) and yellow (underground cable is damaged and needs repair).
  
• NOVEC: Call 1-888-335-0500, TTY 711
  
• Streetlight Outage at Major Interchanges or a Traffic Light Problem: Call VDOT: 1-800-FOR-ROAD (1-800-367-7623), TTY 711

When reporting an outage to Dominion Virginia Power or NOVEC, you will need to have the location of the pole and the pole number. To find the light pole number, check this map, and enter the address nearest to the light outage, then use the “Zoom” tool to view the pole number of a specific streetlight.

If you need additional information or assistance, contact the Capital Facilities Utilities Design and Construction Division, 703-324-5111, TTY 711.

Anyone with information about Sunday night’s hit and run, specifically the identity of the driver of the red car on Reston Parkway, should contact police:

• By Phone -1-866-411-TIPS (866-411-8477 )
• By Text - “TIP187” plus your message to CRIMES (274637)
• By Web-based Encrypted Email - Click HERE
• Download Mobile Web App “Tip Submit“