(Updated at 2:20 p.m. on 12/23/21) A pedestrian suffered serious injuries after being struck by a wrong-way driver in Clarendon Sunday night.
The incident happened around 9:00 p.m., in front of the Clarendon Ballroom on Wilson Blvd.
The driver “blew through” the traffic light at the intersection of Wilson Blvd and Washington Blvd, went up Wilson going the wrong way, ran up on the sidewalk, struck the side of the Clarendon War Memorial and smashed into several cars, according to witness accounts. The driver also struck a pedestrian, who witnesses say was lying in the street following the collision.
The pedestrian was transported to George Washington University Hospital with serious injuries, according to scanner traffic.
Update at 2:35 p.m. — Police say the driver, 36-year-old Arlington resident Benjamin [Redacted], has been charged with DUI. From an ACPD press release:
The Arlington County Police Department arrested and charged a 36 year-old Arlington man following a pedestrian struck incident in the 3100 block of N. Wilson Boulevard.
Emergency Communications Center dispatchers began receiving numerous calls at 9:01 p.m. on January 12, 2014 for a vehicle that was traveling at a high rate of speed in the wrong direction on Wilson Boulevard in the Clarendon area. Several minutes later, the 2010 Mercedes Benz struck four parked vehicles, along with a 33 year-old Washington, D.C. man. The victim sustained non-life threatening injuries and was transported by ambulance to GW hospital.
The driver, Benjamin [Redacted], 36, of Arlington, VA, was arrested and charged with DUI and DUI refusal.
Photos courtesy @mleibner and @jacksmith023