A police chase that started in D.C. ended with a wreck at a busy Crystal City intersection.
U.S. Park Police had chased the car from D.C. to Crystal City when, just before 8:30 p.m., it was broadsided by a Jeep at the intersection of Jefferson Davis Highway and 23rd Street S. The fleeing vehicle slammed into a gas pump at the Exxon station at the southwest corner of the intersection. Three men ran from the car, with one dropping a gun on the ground in the process.
The victim, a Marine Corps Veteran, was struck by a Ford F-350 driven by Linwood Knight, a lift operator for the Department of Environmental Services, police said. According to county Director of Human Resources Marcy Foster, Knight is still employed by the county. The county does not disclose disciplinary action.
Knight was charged at the scene with failure to yield to a pedestrian, Arlington County Police Department spokesman Lt. Mike Watson said. The investigation has concluded and no other charges are pending.
Update at 4:45 p.m. — Firefighters report that the gas has been shut off. Police are attempting to open up a lane of traffic through the intersection.
Earlier: A gas line break may snarl the drive home for some Crystal City commuters.
The Columbia Pike Multimodal Improvement Project, the purchase of four additional ART buses, the Crystal City Multimodal Center, and Boundary Channel Drive- I-395 interchange improvements — which include construction of two roundabouts as well as safety and aesthetic improvements — are under consideration by the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority to receive funding under the bill, HB2313.
In Fiscal Year 2014, the NVTA is expected to have $190 million to spend, and the authority is considering 32 projects across the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park. Arlington’s four projects on the list that cost a combined $18.835 million.
Beauty Pageant in Crystal City — The annual Miss United States beauty pageant is taking place at Synetic Theater in Crystal City today and tomorrow (Saturday). Single women between the ages of 20 and 29 come from 55 states and U.S. territories to compete in the pageant. [Miss United States]
Marymount Launching Baseball Program — Arlington’s Marymount University is launching a baseball program, with a team composed largely of freshmen from Northern Virginia high schools. The team will play at Bishop O’Connell High School’s baseball field. [Washington Post]
(Updated on 7/12/13) An Arlington County pickup truck struck a pedestrian in Crystal City this afternoon.
The county-owned Ford F-350 struck a female pedestrian on 12th Street between Army Navy Drive and Long Bridge Drive, according to scanner traffic. The woman was found under the truck and suffered non-life threatening injuries, including a leg and back injury.
That’s what one resident told ARLnow.com in a letter to the editor. “John Henry” — not his real name — says that he has seen unsuspecting families walk into the establishment, which features semi-nude dancers.
“The embarrassed looks I’ve seen from parents quickly ushering out their young children bring tears to my eyes,” he wrote. “There should be some requirement or warning sign on the door of the club or a doorman that warns those entering that it is a sexually-oriented business… certainly not a generic ‘Crystal City Restaurant.'”
On Saturday, Arlington County police made 13 alcohol-related arrests in Clarendon during the All-American Bar Crawl, according to ACPD spokesman Dustin Sternbeck. Among the arrests were two for assault on a police officer and one for a man who attempted, unsuccessfully, to throw a chair through the front window of a business.
Sternbeck said calls for police in Clarendon were “steady” throughout the evening, up until about midnight. “Multiple” fights were reported during that time.
Freddie’s Beach Bar, at 555 23rd Street in Crystal City, is planning a “big celebration” tonight (Wednesday) to mark the Supreme Court’s repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act.
This afternoon a rainbow-colored sign with the words “One Step Closer” was put up outside the bar, above the door. Owner Freddie Lutz says he’s expecting a large, jubilant crowd to take those words as a rallying cry at the bar tonight.
The second phase of the Crystal Drive Two-Way Conversion project was completed over the weekend.
As of Saturday, Crystal Drive between 23rd Street and 26th Street was open to two way traffic. Formerly, the road only allowed one-way northbound traffic.
The robbery happened on the 2400 block of S. Eads Street around 12:30 a.m. Police say two Arlington men, ages 32 and 33, were walking to their car from a nearby restaurant when a man crossed the street and engaged them in conversation. The man then pulled out a gun and demanded cash.
The victims emptied their pockets and then ran away. For an unknown reason, the suspect then fired a single gunshot, striking the side of the CVS Pharmacy building. No one was hurt.
Fish and Wildlife Office to Leave Arlington — On the heels of the decision to move the National Science Foundation from Arlington to Alexandria, the General Services Administration is expected to announce soon that the Fish and Wildlife Service is leaving, as well. The Dept. of the Interior agency, which occupies three office buildings in Ballston, is “seeking a less expensive space option outside Arlington.” [Washington Business Journal]
Restaurant Fire in Crystal City — A fire broke out in the kitchen of Cafe Manna in Crystal City around 5:30 last night. The restaurant is located on the ground floor of the office building at 2345 Crystal Drive. A sprinkler system helped to extinguish the flames before they spread, but the restaurant suffered smoke and water damage.
