Arlington County firefighters rescued a person from underneath a Metro train last night (Thursday) in Crystal City.
Arlington County Fire Department units were dispatched to the Crystal City Metro station (1750 S. Clark Street) at 8:25 p.m. for a report of an individual struck by a train, per a press release today. They found the person under a train, “conscious and alert.”
“Crews immediately began rescue operations, sending personnel onto the track bed and underneath the train to safely remove the patient,” per the release. “The patient was successfully extricated from beneath the train just before 9 p.m. and loaded onto an awaiting ambulance.”
RELEASE: Arlington County Fire Department Rescues Individual Struck by Trainhttps://t.co/xdeebBkM9W pic.twitter.com/IeuPBNK3uK
— Arlington Fire & EMS (@ArlingtonVaFD) March 10, 2023
The person was taken to an area hospital in critical condition, according to ACFD.
“Rescue operations like the one our crews faced on March 9 can be extremely challenging,” Arlington County Fire Chief David Povlitz said in a statement. “I am extremely proud of our responders and WMATA safety partners for their ability to perform such a technical operation safely, proficiently, and quickly.”
Asked about the current condition of the person who was struck, a spokesman said the fire department typically does not do any immediate follow up once someone gets to the hospital.
Metro suspended service between the Reagan National Airport and Pentagon City stations in response to the incident and requested shuttle buses to accommodate passengers, according to a tweet published around 8:4o p.m. last night.
The ACFD is assisting @wmata with an incident at the Crystal City station. https://t.co/JoZp9JmFwL pic.twitter.com/DCC4i3aVan
— Arlington Fire & EMS (@ArlingtonVaFD) March 10, 2023
Two hours later, Metro announced that Blue and Yellow line service had resumed.
UPDATED: Blue Line Alert: Train service restored btwn National Airport & Pentagon City following a person struck by a train at Crystal City. Expect residual delays.
— Metrorail Info (@Metrorailinfo) March 10, 2023
The northbound lanes of the GW Parkway will be closed this Sunday between Spout Run in Arlington and Chain Bridge Road in McLean.
The closure, from about 6 a.m.-4 p.m., is for the removal of “an abandoned vehicle that is below the road near the Potomac River.”
From the National Park Service:
On Sunday, March 5, 2023, the National Park Service (NPS) will close both northbound lanes of the George Washington Memorial Parkway to remove an abandoned vehicle that is below the road near the Potomac River. The NPS expects to close the lanes between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. from Spout Run Parkway to Chain Bridge Road, VA 123. The southbound lanes will remain open. The NPS will also temporarily close parts of the Potomac Heritage Trail near the vehicle for up to half an hour at a time while the work is happening.
The abandoned vehicle is located below the parkway next to the Potomac River near Donaldson Run. The car left the road during a snowstorm in January of 2022. The driver sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
The crash and rescue happened during snowy conditions on Jan. 3, 2022.
“The driver — the only occupant of the vehicle — was trapped inside the car and suspended upside down, with a broken arm and leg, according to initial reports,” ARLnow reported at the time. “After being extricated from the vehicle, the man is now being brought to a waiting ambulance at Columbia Island Marina via D.C. fire boat.”
This is not the first time in recent memory such a closure of the Parkway has been planned. Indeed, drivers have been running down the Parkway’s steep embankments with some regularity, posing logistical challenges for the Park Service.
In March 2021, a portion of the GW Parkway was closed over the weekend as crews remove two vehicles that ran down embankments and crashed near the river.
Other such crashes since the start of 2021 include:
- Jan. 12, 2021: Two people rescued after a crash in which two vehicles careened off the Parkway near I-395 and ended up in the Potomac.
- Jan. 15, 2021: Another car ran off the road and over an embankment near the second scenic overlook in Arlington, after the suicide of a Jan. 6 first responder
- Oct. 20, 2021: A driver was rescued but suffered serious injuries after their car careened off the northbound lanes and into a thick patch of woods, just north of Spout Run
- Nov. 17, 2022: One person died and another survived after driving into the Potomac near Columbia Island Marina on a particularly cold fall night
The northern portion of the Parkway, where many of the crashes have taken place, is in line for a significant rehabilitation project. As we previously reported:
For the first time since it was built in the early 1960s, the northern section of the GW Parkway will be getting a major overhaul.
The National Park Service announced yesterday that it had awarded a $161 million contract to rehabilitate the Parkway from Spout Run in Arlington to the Capital Beltway in McLean. After a design process in 2022, construction is expected to take place between 2023 and 2025.
Drivers are being cautioned that there will be traffic impacts during construction.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) touted the project in a statement, saying such work is overdue. This stretch of the Parkway has had to close at least three times over the past seven years due to sinkholes.
The Park Service, in today’s press release, noted that the Parkway has turned into a major commuter and travel artery, after first being envisioned as a scenic parkway.
The George Washington Memorial Parkway is a scenic roadway and memorial to the first president of the United States. When the NPS completed the northern part of the parkway in 1962, the NPS used the most up-to-date road engineering methods by integrating a wide, gently curving roadway with a grassy median, low stone guide walls and soaring steel-and-concrete arched bridges. Today the George Washington Memorial Parkway facilitates travel for more than 33 million vehicles per year, with the northern section seeing the heaviest traffic of about 85,000 daily users.
As a critical link in the national capital region’s transportation network, closing the parkway is never a decision the NPS makes lightly.
(Updated at 3:15 p.m.) Firefighters have rescued two construction workers after they got stuck in a lift that reportedly contacted power lines.
The incident happened around 2 p.m. at the construction site for Arlington Fire Station No. 8, at 4845 Langston Blvd.
Two men could be seen standing on the lift, which had been raised to the top of the under-construction fire station, shortly before the rescue. Initial reports suggested that one was dangling from their safety equipment immediately after the accident.
A crowd of local residents gathered on the other side of Langston Blvd, watching the rescue unfold.
Firefighters used a ladder truck to reach the lift. The men were then lowered to the ground and helped onto stretchers. They both appeared shaken but not seriously injured.
The thoroughfare remained blocked in both directions by the police and fire department activity for about an hour, reopening shortly after 3 p.m.
Just over 900 Dominion customers are now without power in the neighborhoods around the construction site.
Power company personnel and workplace safety investigators are heading to the scene, according to the fire department.
FINAL: Two patients have been transported to area hospitals in stable condition. The investigation into the circumstances of the incident remains ongoing. Units are clearing the scene and some lanes of traffic will open shortly.
— Arlington Fire & EMS (@ArlingtonVaFD) February 20, 2023
A Saturday morning crash in Pentagon City sent two people to the hospital after they were pulled from their overturned vehicle.
The crash happened around 8:30 a.m. at the intersection of Army Navy Drive and S. Eads Street and was caught on video (below) by local public safety watchdog Dave Statter.
“At approx. 8:31am the Arlington County Fire Department was dispatched for a vehicle crash with entrapment,” Arlington County Fire Department spokesman Capt. Nate Hiner. “Crews quick arrived on scene and found a two-vehicle crash, with two occupants trapped inside one of the vehicles. That vehicle was stabilized and both occupants were quickly extricated. They were transported from the scene to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.”
Video of the crash shows the overturned vehicle, a blue Honda, traveling east on Army Navy Drive and getting t-boned in the intersection by a second vehicle, traveling north on Eads. It is unclear which driver had the green light.
#caughtoncamera: One overturned after crash at Army Navy & S. Eads at 8:30 a.m. 2 people were trapped for about 20 mins. Injuries reported to be non-life threatening. @ArlingtonVaFD & @ArlingtonVaPD handled. @ARLnowDOTcom #firefighters #EMS #police #arlington #traffic #vatraffic pic.twitter.com/6WkDhJDG9l
— Dave Statter (@STATter911) January 21, 2023
(Updated at 1:30 p.m.) A driver was pulled from their overturned vehicle after reportedly running into a gas pump.
The unusual incident happened shortly before 11 a.m. at the Sunoco station at 5501 Langston Blvd, across from the Lee-Harrison Shopping Center. Employees hit the emergency gas shut off after the crash, per scanner traffic.
The driver, an elderly woman, was extricated from the Chrysler coupe by firefighters after they stabilized the vehicle. She and a second vehicle occupant were transported to a local hospital via ambulance with unspecified injuries.
“At approx. 10:54am the Arlington County Fire Department was dispatched for a report of a single vehicle crash in the 5500 block of Langston Blvd,” Capt. Nate Hiner told ARLnow. “Crews arrived on scene and found a single vehicle crash with 1 occupant trapped inside. The vehicle was stabilized and the individual was extricated. Two adults were transported from the scene with non-life threatening injuries.”
There were no reports of the crash sparking a fire nor causing a significant fuel spill.
A vehicle overturned in the garage of a single-family home in the Yorktown neighborhood this afternoon.
The incident happened around 3:30 p.m. near the intersection of Old Dominion Drive and 29th Street N., across from Washington Golf and Country Club.
It’s unclear how exactly the vehicle overturned. A large contingent of firefighters worked to stabilize the vehicle and rescue a woman who was reported to be trapped inside.
The victim was transported via ambulance to a local hospital with unspecified injuries.
Two people were rescued from a precarious situation in Glencarlyn Park on Friday.
The driver of an SUV reportedly mistook the gas for the brake in the parking lot of the Long Branch Nature Center, sending it over an embankment and nearly into the creek below.
Firefighters were dispatched to the scene around 8:30 a.m. They stabilized the vehicle before helping the two people inside get safely back up to level ground. They were both taken to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries.
Arlington County has seen several vehicles driven or nearly driven into creeks over the years, including in 2018 along Columbia Pike and in 2019 in Bluemont Park.
On 12/2 ACFD responded for a single vehicle crash in the 600 BLK of S. Carlin Springs Rd. Crews found a vehicle that was hanging on the rocks above a creek. The car was stabilized, and the occupants removed. 2 individuals were transported to an area hospital with NLT injuries. pic.twitter.com/1EfEaq61uF
— Arlington Fire & EMS (@ArlingtonVaFD) December 5, 2022
(Updated at 11:25 p.m.) At least two people have been pulled from the water on an icy cold night after a car drove into the Potomac along the GW Parkway.
The crash was first reported around 9:30 p.m., near Columbia Island Marina and the Humpback Bridge. It was not immediately clear how the car ended up in the water.
Initial reports suggest that one person was quickly able to get out of the water, possibly with the assistance of U.S. Park Police. They were taken to a local hospital via ambulance.
Another person was reported to be trapped and was taken to a hospital in critical condition after a rescue operation and CPR being performed on shore. NBC 4 reported tonight that that person has died.
Arlington County firefighters and D.C. fireboats assisted with the rescue operation alongside Park Police. Rescuers also searched the water for a possible third victim, according to scanner traffic.
“The two occupants were located and removed from the vehicle in the water,” ACFD said via social media. “Both were transported to area hospitals, one with life-threatening injuries.”
The northbound lanes of the Parkway are expected to remain closed until after midnight, according to Arlington Alert, likely as a result of the crash investigation. As of publication fire department personnel were in the process of clearing from the scene.
#FinalUpdate: The two occupants were located and removed from the vehicle in the water. Both were transported to area hospitals, one with life-threatening injuries.
— Arlington Fire & EMS (@ArlingtonVaFD) November 18, 2022
LOCATION: NB George Washington Parkway (GW Pkwy) at I-395
INCIDENT: Police Department Activity
IMPACT: All NB lanes of GW Pkwy is blocked at I-395/14th St Bridge. Pedestrian traffic is closed in the area. Road closures may continue for 2-3 hours. Seek alt pic.twitter.com/zNpAe0W9Ar— Arlington Alert (@ArlingtonAlert) November 18, 2022
DC Fireboats on scene assisting @ArlingtonVaFD with vehicle in water GW Parkway vicinity of the Humpback Bridge. This is an @ArlingtonVaFD incident and media inquiries should be directed to them.
— DC Fire and EMS (@dcfireems) November 18, 2022
Traffic Alert: Crash investigation northbound George Washington Memorial Parkway in area of Columbia Island. Northbound traffic diverted to 395. Ramp to GWMP from 395 also closed.
— USPPNEWS (@usparkpolicepio) November 18, 2022
VA: #Arlington George Washington Pkwy NB at I-395/14th Street Bridge all traffic stopped for the incident, ALL NB TRAFFIC DIVERTED ONTO NB I-395. #vatraffic https://t.co/ribJyV7Rgl pic.twitter.com/58JV8xjasr
— WTOP Traffic (@WTOPtraffic) November 18, 2022
Eagle is assisting with the search for a person reported submerged in an auto into the Potomac River. @HCBright10 @ARLnowDOTcom @HelicoptersofDC https://t.co/mwCm38K7jP pic.twitter.com/frXBiQbH3f
— Alan Henney (@alanhenney) November 18, 2022
(Updated at 2:40 p.m.) The rideshare driver who crashed into Ireland’s Four Courts in Courthouse last month likely experienced “a medical emergency” before driving into the building, police say.
This preliminary explanation comes after Arlington County police previously ruled out drunk driving as well as malicious intent.
The crash set fire to the popular pub, situated next to the “T” intersection of N. Courthouse Road and Wilson Blvd, during a local company’s happy hour event. It triggered a large emergency response and road closures as people fled the fiery scene. More than a dozen people were hurt.
Police said today that all three pub-goers who were hospitalized with serious, potentially life-threatening injuries have now been released — a little over a month after they were admitted. One patient was still in critical condition and two others were in stable condition within a week of the crash.
The seriously injured people are expected to undergo a rehabilitation process as they continue to recover, we’re told.
In all, 15 people were injured, including nine brought to local hospitals. Of them, three were Four Courts employees hospitalized for less serious injuries, including smoke inhalation.
Four Courts Managing Partner Dave Cahill told ARLnow that the patrons who were seriously injured may not have survived but for other quick-thinking fellow pub-goers, including a volunteer firefighter, as well as first responders who arrived on scene just moments after the crash.
“Our thoughts and prayers have been with them for this whole time,” Cahill said of the victims. “They’re regulars who come in here all the time… we’re happy that they’ve started the next stage of recovery.”
Building inspectors determined that Four Courts is structurally sound but not fit for occupancy due to the extensive damage.
The pub is planning to rebuild, funded in part by a now-closed GoFundMe campaign that blew well past its $50,000 goal, raising just over $95,000. Tonight, fellow Arlington Irish pub Samuel Beckett’s (2800 S. Randolph Street) is hosting a fundraiser and silent auction for Four Courts staff.
Cahill told ARLnow today that insurance and other matters are still being worked out before construction can begin that would allow at least part of the pub to reopen. If demolition starts soon, he said, the best case scenario would be reopening in late spring or early summer of 2023.
When the doors swing back open, he wants customers to feel like nothing has changed, and for regulars to request the same TV channels and sit in the same seats they’ve sat in for years.
“We’re going to work and recreate Four Courts as close back to the original as possible,” he said. “We don’t want people to walk in here and think they’re in a different place. Things will be updated, obviously, but we want people to feel at home in the Four Courts.”
The only thing that many repeat customers would miss would be their personal mugs. Four Courts had a mug club with more than 1,475 mugs people purchased; added their names, football team logos and family crests to; and drank from whenever they came in.
“We lost a lot of mugs,” he said. “When the fire came, it melted the mug and left the handle. We’re sad about that. That was a big part of the brand.”
The four people reported to be seriously injured when a car plowed into Ireland’s Four Courts last night may not have survived but for the quick actions of fellow pub-goers and first responders.
That’s according to Dave Cahill, long-time manager of the Courthouse fixture, which remains closed after last night’s crash and fire.
At last check, the four critically injured people were still hospitalized, but the hope is all four will pull through, we’re told. Cahill tells ARLnow that all three Four Courts employees who were injured and brought to the hospital have since been released.
The crash happened around 6:45 p.m. Friday, as people were gathered near the front of the pub for a local company’s happy hour event.
A gray Toyota Camry — ARLnow has heard from multiple sources that it was being operated as a rideshare vehicle — reportedly came speeding up N. Courthouse Road and drove through the “T” intersection, slamming directly into the pub. It was nearly 20 feet inside the business, Cahill said, and started to catch fire almost immediately.
Quick-thinking customers sprang into action, coming from the back of the restaurant to the smoldering wreckage to help severely injured customers, the driver, and at least one passenger of the car, who was also hurt. Photos taken as fire started to engulf the car and the pub show several people carrying one man — who can be seen in a photo taken seconds earlier slumped over in front of the car — to safety outside.
Police and firefighters arrived on scene as employees and customers were still trying to flee the pub. Photos and a TikTok video show police officers running into Four Courts as smoke billowed out. In frantic police radio transmissions, first arriving officers requested “a lot of ambulances” and reported “a lot of people” still inside the restaurant as fire spread.
“It’s an image I’ll never forget,” said Cahill.
Without customers risking their own safety to save the injured, and without the lightning-fast response of police and medics — ACPD headquarters is a couple of blocks from Four Courts and a fire station is a short distance down Wilson Blvd — “it could have been a lot worse,” he said.
Also helping: the pub was significantly less crowded than usual for a Friday, a server told NBC 4.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone who was hurt,” said Cahill. Asked about when the pub might reopen, Cahill said “we’re not thinking about it right now.”
Building inspectors determined that Four Courts is structurally sound but not fit for occupancy due to the extensive damage. Photos of the interior from this morning, shared with ARLnow, show a vast swath of charred flooring, fixtures and ceiling near the front of the pub.
The car, meanwhile, was removed from inside and hauled away on a flatbed tow truck early this morning. Video shows heavy front-end damage from the collision.
Cahill said management will start to assess repairs and future plans next week, but noted that the kitchen and the newer rear of the pub is largely intact. The current hope is that insurance will help to pay employees and keep them on staff.
A GoFundMe page, which Cahill says was set up by a regular customer, will also help. As of publication it has raised more than $7,500 of a $50,000 goal.
A total of 14 people were injured, including eight who were brought to local hospitals, police and fire officials said last night. There’s still no word on what led to the crash.
Update at 4 p.m. — The Arlington County police and fire departments just issued the following joint statement. Two of the victims remain in critical condition, the statement says, while the other two seriously injured people have been stabilized.
After spending all of their lives in kennels, nearly 70 beagles will soon be up for adoption through Arlington-based organizations.
The Animal Welfare League of Arlington and Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation began welcoming a number of rescued beagles into their facilities last week.
The dogs are now going through medical exams and being given a chance to adjust to their new life before being adopted out, both organizations told ARLnow.
There’s no set timeline yet for when the beagles will be ready to go to their forever homes.
Last year, inspections at an Envigo breeding and research facility in Cumberland, Virginia where thousands of beagles were being housed turned up dozens of animal welfare violations.
Finally, in July of this year, a judge ordered the release of thousands of beagles from the facility, with authorities having two months to find the dogs new homes. The plight of the beagles became an international story.
Several local shelters have lended a paw to the rescue efforts. AWLA in Shirlington took in 10 beagles while LDCRF, the non-profit beneficiary of Arlington restaurants Lost Dog Cafe and Stray Cat Bar & Grill, greeted 56 beagles at its Falls Church care center. The nearby Fairfax County Animal Shelter also took in 16 beagles.
Our #EnvigoBeagles are heading to their foster homes today! This will be the first time these dogs have ever experienced living in a house, sleeping in a bed, or going outside. Please consider donating to our beagles' fundraising page at https://t.co/ZfjWIsZIU0 pic.twitter.com/E2cyVGzTZY
— AWLArlington, VA (@AWLAArlington) August 8, 2022
Now the focus shifts to helping the beagles adjust to a world they’ve never encountered before.
“Nearly every experience for the beagles rescued from the mass breeding facility is a first,” Heidi Gioseffi from Lost Dog told ARLnow. “First sniffs of fresh air, first sunlight on their faces, first splash through clean water in a kiddie pool, first cuddles from caring humans, first chew toys, first ambling run outdoors, first collar with a name tag, first NAME to replace a code tattooed for life on the underside of their ear, first attempt to climb steps into a house. For volunteers witnessing their firsts is a joy one cannot fully describe. It is truly uplifting.”
While it can be a joy to watch these dogs experience all these new things, it also can be frightening for the animals. Chelsea Jones, AWLA’s spokesperson, says things like toys, dog parks, and, even, floors might be too much for them to handle right now.
“What might be super fun to a regular dog, might be kind of scary to these dogs that have never experienced it before,” Jones said. “So, we are just going really slow and kind of letting them experience the world at their own pace.”
Most of the dogs with AWLA are now in foster homes so caretakers can learn how they adapt and, so far, Jones said they are all doing “surprisingly well” with no major behavior challenges to report beyond not being house trained.
“They are beagles, though,” she laughed. “They do like to bark and are pretty chatty.”
That’s why AWLA named all of its beagles after percussion instruments, she said.
