A vehicle caught fire after a crash in a Crystal City apartment parking garage last night, leading to DUI charges against the driver.
It happened shortly before 8:45 p.m. Wednesday at a parking garage on the 2200 block of S. Clark Street.
“The preliminary investigation indicates the suspect struck a pillar in a parking garage with his vehicle,” an Arlington County police spokeswoman tells ARLnow.
Following the crash, “the vehicle caught fire, which crews quickly extinguished,” according to the Arlington County Fire Department. “There was no impact to the businesses or apartments above.”
While the fire did not significantly impact the structures above the garage, it did fill the garage and neighboring, connected parking garages, with smoke, setting off additional fire alarms.
“Extensive ventilation was needed to remove all the smoke from the parking garage,” ACFD said last night of the hours-long smoke removal operation.
The driver was found near a corner of the garage, away from the vehicle fire, and brought to safety by firefighters, according to scanner traffic.
“The suspect was located on scene and transported to a Washington, DC hospital for treatment,” according to ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage. The fire department described his injuries as non-life-threatening.
“Following the on-scene investigation, a warrant was obtained for the suspect for Driving Under the Influence,” said Savage.
