BREAKING: Woman fatally struck by SUV driver along Little Falls Road

(Updated at 12:35 a.m.) A pedestrian has died after being struck in the Williamsburg neighborhood this morning.

The crash happened around 9 a.m. Saturday at the intersection of Little Falls Road and John Marshall Drive. Initial reports suggest that that an older woman was struck by the driver of an SUV in or near a crosswalk, and that the woman was in cardiac arrest when she was rushed to a local trauma center.

We’re told that the victim was familiar to local residents and is often seen walking in the area.

Police were still on site investigating the crash well into the morning, with the scene surrounded by police tape. The driver of the SUV remained on scene.

At 11 a.m., a police spokeswoman told ARLnow that the victim, who was in her 80s, has died.

“She was pronounced deceased at the hospital and police remain on scene investigating the fatal crash,” said Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Ashley Savage. “Her identity is being withheld pending proper notification.”

This is the third fatal pedestrian crash along a two-block stretch of Little Falls Road near Nottingham Elementary School over the past eight years.

In 2014 a local mother unloading a minivan near the school was fatally struck by a passing dump truck, the driver of which was later charged with a traffic infraction. In September 2019, a 55-year-old Arlington woman was struck while walking her dogs in a crosswalk at the intersection of Little Falls Road and N. Ohio Street; she later succumbed to her injuries in the hospital..

ACPD issued the following about the crash Saturday night, with the victim’s name plus a bit more information on the crash and how it happened.

The Arlington County Police Department is investigating a fatal pedestrian crash that occurred in the Williamsburg neighborhood on the morning of Saturday, October 8.

At approximately 9:01 a.m., police were dispatched to the report of a crash with injuries involving a pedestrian in the 5800 block of Little Falls Road. Upon arrival, officers located the pedestrian in the roadway suffering from serious injuries. She was transported by medics to the hospital where she succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced deceased. She has been identified as Gwendolyn Hayes, 85, of Arlington, VA.

The preliminary investigation indicates the driver of the striking vehicle turned left from John Marshall Drive onto Little Falls Road and struck the pedestrian as she was crossing the roadway in the crosswalk. The driver of the striking vehicle remained on scene.

This remains an active criminal investigation. Anyone with information that may assist the investigation is asked to contact Detective D. Galiatsos at [email protected] or 703-228-4163. Information may also be reported anonymously to Arlington County Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS.

Hat tip to Charlie Clark