Accident Closes Washington Blvd in Westover

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by Katie Pyzyk — September 22, 2012 at 11:34 am 4,001 16 Comments

An accident in the Westover neighborhood closed Washington Blvd in both directions for more than an hour this morning (Saturday).

A little before 10:00 a.m., three cars became involved in an accident near N. Longfellow Street. Police and fire fighters blocked off Washington Blvd for several blocks while crews extricated a woman trapped inside her vehicle. She was transported to Fairfax Inova Hospital, and a person from another car was transported to Virginia Hospital Center with minor injuries.

Arlington County Fire Department spokesman Capt. Gregg Karl wasn’t able to give an update on the extricated woman’s condition. He did say regardless condition, it’s standard procedure to send a victim to a trauma center such as Fairfax if emergency crews had to remove the person from a vehicle.

The scene drew crowds and neighbors explained to each other what they had seen.

“A car came flying over the hill,” said a neighbor who witnessed the accident and wishes to remain anonymous. “People are going to keep doing that until somebody gets killed.”

A firefighter on the scene, however, said medics aren’t sure if the driver who was extricated may have experienced a medical emergency before becoming involved in the accident.

witness

I was a witness to this accident and was really disappointed at how long it took for medics to get to the scene and treat the victim. It was at least 5 minutes from our 911 calls until ACPD arrived and then at least another 5 minutes until ACFD showed up – so well over 10 minutes (closer to 15) until a medic spoke to her. We can do better than this.
- GW
  
  I see fire units in thos photos from across the county! Were local units busy? That would explane the long response time.
- Can I get a witness
  
  Oh please, Arlington County is alleged to have some of the fastest emergency response times in the United States since 9/11 and it has taken an ENORMOUS amount of tax dollars just to get there. I’m not sure what your idea of a suitable response time is, but when you fill all the side streets with speed humps, bicyclists who think they own the road, and lingering, traffic oblivious pedestrians, good luck getting it under 10 minutes let alone 5.
  
  Thinking about things in a critical manner: we can do better!
  - Say it Ain’t So
    
    Exactly. I agree with all three of your assessments. 10-15 in less than 5 miles is excellent around here for all the reasons you mentioned… unfortunately……
    - Larchmont
      
      It ain’t so.
  - Larchmont
    
    Sounds like a personal problem and not one with our emergency responders. They know the streets, have sirens and are pretty darn good at what they do. Bicyclists and pedestrians slowing down a fire truck? And from anywhere in the county I’m guessing you could get to this location going over 5 speed humps or less driving an emergency response vehicle. Maybe we’re not on the same “side street”?
- Ziv
  
  Witness. If the police got there in 5 minutes and the FD got there in 10, that is probably about as good as it gets in a suburban location. I think it is useful to remember that when seconds count, the police are minutes away.
  Our police and fire department personnel are some of the best in the US. Expecting them to teleport to the scene of the accident is probably not realistic.
- More FUD
  
  You’re right. They should start using helicopters to respond to all car accidents. Oh man, I just came up with an idea. Maybe they can put medics on all of the UAV’s that operate around the DC area and get a two-fer going.
  
  It was definitely the bicyclist’s fault though…
Westover

The accident happened so far past where you come “over the hill” I’m not surprised the witness wanted anonymity. Thats just silly talk.
- Suburban Not Urban
  
  +1 Yea – what hill? – sight lines at Longfellow and Wash Blvd are good except maybe on the cross street.
Deadite

Light looks green to me.
Pogach

As someone who lives at corner of Glebe and Henderson, I hear the FT, RS and Police cars all time. It took one truck at least 2 minutes to get thru this intersection simply becuz folks wouldn’t get out of the way. Drivers don’t know how to drive anymore or know the rules such as yield, using signals, not breaking constantly up to 4 blocks/1/4 mile from a green light, driving 2 miles an hour cuz they’re chatting on the cell phone and my all time fav leaving a truck length before their car when sitting at ared light. Seems as though remedial training might be a useful requirement when renewing your license every 10-15 years. Just a thought.
Pogach

sorry, braking.
LPS4DL

Some questions come to mind for the witness:
What are your expectations? How many minutes for a response would be acceptable to you?
What was the traffic situation between the accident site and the first FD unit on the scene?
What did you say to the 911 operator? Did they understand that a person was critically injured?
DK

I Iooked at the pictures and one engine was from Fort Myer, so there’s at least one delay there. And don’t assume that the fire department is in quarters waiting for a call. they could be anywhere within the county which could affect response time. And finally, as everyone else has said, traffic, especially on a Saturday, can be murder and most drivers can’t get out of their own way, let alone for emergency vehicles.
MC 703

Pic #6 – 45 year old Ryan Zimmerman?

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