Thursday was a busy night of vehicular incidents for Arlington County first responders.
Less than two hours after a pair of pedestrians were struck and injured in an alleged road rage hit-and-run, another pedestrian was struck a few blocks away in Ballston. A woman crossing in the crosswalk at Fairfax Drive and N. Utah Street was hospitalized, police say, after she was struck by the driver of a pickup truck.
Initially thought to be more serious, the victim’s injuries are now being described as “minor.” The driver was cited for Failure to Yield, according to police.
An hour later, police and medics were dispatched to the 2700 block of S. Cleveland Street in Arna Valley, behind the Tesla dealership, for a serious crash, possibly caused by the driver suffering a medical emergency.
“At approximately 10:04 p.m. on December 18, police were dispatched to the 2700 block of S. Cleveland Street for the report of a suspicious vehicle,” an Arlington County police spokesperson tells ARLnow. “Witnesses reported the vehicle driving erratically in the area before subsequently crashing into a cement barrier in the area of S. Cleveland Street and S. Four Mile Run Drive.”
“The driver of the vehicle, an adult male, sustained serious injuries and was transported to an area hospital,” said the spokesperson. “No charges have been sought at this time and the investigation into the circumstances of the incident is ongoing.”
Around the same time, officers engaged in a brief chase of suspects from an armed robbery of phones in D.C. The chase was called off as the suspects drove towards Langston Blvd on Spout Run Parkway.
From ACPD:
At approximately 9:46 p.m. on December 18, Arlington County police received a lookout from the Metropolitan Police Department for a suspect vehicle associated with an incident that had just occurred in their jurisdiction and fled. A short time later, an officer observed a vehicle matching the description from the lookout in the area of Army Navy Drive and S. Joyce Street. The vehicle subsequently accelerated at a high rate of speed as they entered the ramp for eastbound Washington Boulevard from Columbia Pike during which a vehicle pursuit was initiated. The suspect vehicle continued to drive recklessly and officers lost sight of the vehicle as it exited the GW Parkway onto Spout Run Parkway. The pursuit was terminated and officers continued to canvass the area for the suspect vehicle, yielding negative results.
At least one of the stolen phones was later tracked to Fairfax, according to a public safety watcher on social media.
Over 60 iPhones were reportedly stolen during an armed robbery with extended magazines at the T-Mobile (600 block of H Street NE) in Washington DC. 🔫
One of the “dummy phones” that were stolen was tracked to Megan Drive and Alex Street in Fairfax, Virginia.
Several of the… pic.twitter.com/BCysEVgTE0
— The DC MD VA Live (@TheDMVLive) December 19, 2025
Arlington police, meanwhile, have identified the victim of a fiery fatal crash along S. Glebe Road near I-395. Police say 23-year-old Arlington resident Jerry Perez Justiniano died after the high-speed, single-vehicle crash that ended with the car overturning, striking the front of an apartment building and catching fire.
“The crash remains under investigation,” police said Friday afternoon.
