A driver accused of striking two pedestrians near Ballston and then fleeing the scene has been arrested.
Zai Atwater, 24, was taken into custody in D.C. over the alleged road rage incident, the Arlington County Police Department announced today.
Atwater has been charged with two counts of hit and run and one count of malicious wounding, plus three misdemeanors: assault and battery, reckless driving and driving while suspended. He is being held without bond at the Arlington County Detention Facility in Courthouse.
Around 7:15 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 18, Atwater and another driver became involved in a dispute while driving eastbound on I-66, police said. Atwater reportedly followed the other driver off the highway to the area around the intersection of N. Glebe Road and N. Wakefield Street.
After the first victim exited his vehicle and began walking, Atwater allegedly accelerated and struck him with his vehicle. While attempting to flee, the D.C. resident also struck another man who was crossing N. Wakefield Street, according to ACPD.
NEW: Two pedestrians reported struck a short time ago near N. Glebe and Washington Boulevard in Arlington County. Early reports indicate the striking vehicle fled the area. @ArlingtonVaPD and @ArlingtonVaFD are handling. Some traffic shut down in the area. @ARLnowDOTcom… pic.twitter.com/emgcyBa8yl
— Dave Statter (@STATter911) December 19, 2025
Police described the victims’ injuries as “serious but non-life threatening.” A GoFundMe page for the second victim — Nick Battista, a part-time personal trainer at the Onelife Fitness in Ballston Quarter — said that he had suffered a collapsed lung and other injuries requiring surgery.
“The impact left [him] with four broken ribs on his right side requiring surgery, eight broken ribs on his left, a collapsed and punctured lung, a broken sacrum, a bruised liver, a broken T5, and deep cuts needing stitches along with a lot of road rash,” the fundraising campaign reads.
Battista told WJLA that he was struck while he had the right of way.
“The driver turned directly into [the other man] and hit him and took his car door off,” Battista said. “I tried to get out of the way, and I failed, and [the car] hit me in the hip as I tried to dodge it.”
The GoFundMe campaign has raised over $30,000.
Atwater is scheduled to appear in Arlington’s General District Court for a preliminary hearing on March 26. There, a judge will determine whether there is enough evidence to send the case to a grand jury.
Atwater could face a lengthy prison sentence if convicted. ACPD’s press release is below.
The Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit is announcing the arrest of a suspect in a December 2025 hit and run crash that injured two victims. Zai Atwater, 24, of Washington, DC is charged with Malicious Wounding, Hit & Run (x2), Assault & Battery, Reckless Driving and Driving While Suspended. He is being held without bond in the Arlington County Detention Facility.
At approximately 7:17 p.m. on December 18, 2025, police were dispatched to the 1100 block of N. Glebe Road for the report of a vehicle crash with injuries. The investigation determined the suspect and victim were each driving eastbound on I-66 when they became involved in a dispute. The suspect continued to follow the victim as he exited the highway. In the area of N. Glebe Road and N. Wakefield Street, the victim parked, exited his vehicle and began walking when the suspect accelerated, striking the victim with his vehicle. As the suspect fled the initial crash scene, he struck a second, uninvolved pedestrian as he was crossing N. Wakefield Street in the crosswalk.
The victims, both adult males, were transported to an area hospital for treatment of serious but non-life threatening injuries and subsequently released.
On the evening of the crash, the suspect vehicle was located and recovered in Washington, DC. During the course of the comprehensive criminal investigation, detectives obtained evidence confirming the suspect was the driver of the vehicle at the time of the crash. Warrants were obtained for his arrest and he was taken into custody in Washington, DC and extradited to the Commonwealth of Virginia.
This remains an active investigation and anyone with information related to this incident is asked to contact the Arlington County Police Department’s tip line at 703-228-4180 or [email protected]. Information may also be reported anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).
