Nearly three months after a woman was killed crossing the street in Old Town North, a Lorton man has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and failure to yield to a pedestrian causing death.
Tekaligne Shirko, 46, surrendered to the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office after a grand jury indictment on July 15, according to a release from the Alexandria Police Department.
On the early evening of April 20, Shirko called 911 after striking and killing 62-year-old Norma Floyd-Sayles as she crossed at the intersection of St. Asaph and Montgomery Streets.
Floyd-Sayles was walking within a marked crosswalk with an active countdown on the pedestrian beacon signal, according to a search warrant affidavit obtained by ALXnow. She was pronounced dead at the scene by the Alexandria Fire Department.
“Video surveillance footage was obtained of the incident showing [the suspect’s] black Chevrolet Suburban making a left turn onto westbound Montgomery Street from N. St. Asaph Street and striking Ms. Floyd-Sayles while she was walking within the pedestrian crosswalk with an active countdown on the pedestrian beacon,” according to the search warrant affidavit.
Shirko was driving a 2023 Chevrolet Suburban and stopped approximately 40 feet from the intersection after the crash, according to the affidavit. The number of fatal pedestrian crashes involving SUVs has risen dramatically across the country since 2009, according to the New York Times.
APD’s Crash Reconstruction Team “conducted an extensive investigation into the collision,” the department said. “Following the completion of the investigation, the case was presented to the Alexandria Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.”
Shirko’s court date has not been set.
