The driver of a pickup truck involved in a fatal crash in Ballston last month is still hospitalized, local officials told ARLnow.
A criminal investigation into the incident, which killed a 32-year-old doctoral candidate and snarled traffic in Ballston for hours, is still underway, Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti told ARLnow.
The name of the 71-year-old driver, who slammed into another vehicle at the intersection of Wilson Blvd and N. Vermont Street on Jan. 27, has not been released. While the Arlington County Police Department previously indicated that charges were pending, nothing had been filed as of yesterday (Tuesday).
“The driver remains hospitalized in critical condition. The investigation into the crash is ongoing and no charges have been sought at this time,” police spokeswoman Ashley Savage tells ARLnow. “In accordance with Virginia Code, information relative to the identity of any individual is releasable if they are an adult and have been arrested and charged.”
Behind the wheel of a gray pickup truck, the 71-year-old was captured on camera speeding the wrong way through the intersection of Wilson Blvd and N. George Mason Drive. The truck appeared to sideswipe an SUV, covering the roadway with debris.
An Arlington police cruiser that had been at the intersection could then be seen turning around to follow the truck down Wilson Blvd, though “officers were not in pursuit of the vehicle,” police said.
Moments later, the truck was seen colliding with the white sedan just before the intersection of Wilson and N. Glebe. Both vehicles careened into two other vehicles waiting at the stoplight, footage showed.
The driver of the sedan, identified as Xuewei He, of McLean, was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead. She was a doctoral candidate in Curriculum and Instruction at The George Washington University.
Professors remembered her as a kind, caring student and teacher who was planning to start a family after her doctorate.
“I am saddened by the loss of this special young woman who was embarking on a good life filled with love, family, and a professional career,” Associate Professor Emerita Patricia Tate said in a release memorializing He.
Brian Casemore, associate professor of curriculum and pedagogy, remembered her as a “brilliant, thoughtful, and deeply ethical teacher and scholar.”
“As an educator and member of our intellectual community, she had a profound inner awareness and subtle, yet powerful voice, as she articulated the challenge and potential of teaching in a complex world,” he said. “She demonstrated so fully the capacity to carry out a teaching life and an intellectual life with creativity and courage.”
