Alexandria police arrested a man after he allegedly crashed his car into multiple vehicles and and got into a foot chase with police.

The incident occurred on Thanksgiving (Nov. 24) at around 2:30 p.m. in the 500 block of N. Quaker Lane, according to a search warrant affidavit recently released at the city’s courthouse..

Police were called multiple times about a gray sedan swerving in and out of lanes with “significant front-end damage,” police reported in the search warrant affidavit. “Other callers described the vehicle as ‘missing a wheel and driving on its rims.'”

Police tried to pull the sedan over, but the suspect allegedly got out of the car and fled on foot. He was arrested a short time later in the 600 block of President Ford Lane.

The suspect was transported to the hospital after his arrest. He was charged with failing to stop at the scene of an accident and driving without a license. He was released that same day on a $1,000 unsecured bond and goes to court on Jan. 27.

The local lanes of I-95 southbound were shut down near Alexandria after a crash involving an injury around 11:30 a.m.

Video of the scene shows traffic backing up as it’s diverted to exit 177/US-1. The thru lanes are still open.

At least one person is reported to have been injured in the crash.

The crash is in the process of being cleared and lanes are expected to reopen shortly.

UPDATE: Crash with Injury. I-95/495 SB (Inner Loop/Local Lanes) at US-1 (exit 177). City of Alexandria, VA. All lanes remain blocked. Traffic is diverted to Exit 177/US-1. Delays begin before the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, in Maryland before I-295. Thru lanes are open at this time.

— MATOC Alerts (@MATOC) December 7, 2022

The number of traffic crashes and injuries is on the rise in Alexandria, according to a new report from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG).

Alcohol-related traffic arrests in Alexandria rose 29% in 2021, with 230 incidents reported. However, 2020 was a pandemic year that saw fewer drivers on the road and 178 total alcohol-related traffic arrests — the lowest number in many years.

“The timing of this report is poignant as we enter the holiday season, a time of year when we see increases in impaired driving” said COG Police Chiefs Committee Chair and Laurel Police Chief Russell E. Hamill, III. “Around this time, we see as many as nearly half of all traffic deaths involve drunk drivers.”

Traffic injuries in Alexandria were up 11% in 2021, with 466 people injured. Regionally, more than 24,000 people were injured in traffic events last year — an increase of 19%, according to the annual How Safe Are Our Roads? Report prepared by COG for the Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP).

There were seven traffic fatalities in 2021 in Alexandria, the same as in 2020. This year is not included in the report, although there have been a number of traffic-related deaths.

Throughout Northern Virginia there were 104 total traffic fatalities last year — a 30% increase. Northern Virginia’s traffic fatalities made up more than one-third of the 341 total traffic deaths in the D.C. Metro area, which also rose 15%.

According to the report:

In Alexandria in 2021:

• There were 1,096 total traffic crashes, up 14%
• There were 466 total traffic injuries, up 11%
• There were 69 alcohol-related traffic crashes, up 1%
• There were 34 alcohol-related traffic injuries, down 1%
• There was one alcohol-related traffic fatality in Alexandria, down 50%

For drivers under the age of 21

• There were zero alcohol-related fatalities
• There were 135 crashes, seven alcohol-related crashes (up 5%)
• There were 52 injuries, with five alcohol-related injuries (up 10%)
• There were seven alcohol-related arrests (up 1%)

The intersection of Duke Street and West Taylor Run Parkway has been a hot spot for car crashes and at a meeting tonight, city staff are scheduled to present plans to give the intersection a makeover.

The meeting, held at nearby Bishop Ireton High School (201 Cambridge Road) from 7-8:30 p.m. tonight (Tuesday) will include an overview of the current intersection and a look at potential design changes.

“During the meeting, City staff will cover both the West Taylor Run intersection on Duke Street and the proposed access onto Telegraph Road east of West Taylor Run,” a release said. “There will be an open house section, a presentation and an opportunity for participants to ask questions and/or provide feedback about the project.”

The city’s website said the intersection has seen frequent crashes in recent years.

“The Duke and West Taylor Run Parkway intersection has been the topic of discussion for a number of years and was identified as a high crash location through the City’s Vision Zero Program,” the site said. “The Duke Street and West Taylor Run Parkway Project aims to improve safety while reducing neighborhood cut-through traffic. The project will redesign the intersection in conjunction with the addition of a new ramp to access Telegraph Road.”

The intersection was also included in earlier changes to keep more cut-through traffic on Duke Street and out of nearby residential neighborhoods.

The city’s website said plans include eliminating direct access to the Telegraph Road ramp from West Taylor Run Parkway, which would help disincentivize commuters using the residential street to get around Duke Street congestion.

“By eliminating direct access onto the Telegraph Road ramp from West Taylor Run Parkway, congestion on Duke Street can be improved and less people will likely use neighborhood streets to access this ramp,” the city’s website said. “As well, the signal timing adjustments will also encourage drivers to use Quaker Lane and Duke Street. While there will ultimately be an additional ramp onto Telegraph Road, the goal is to make it faster for cut-through traffic to stay on Quaker Lane and Duke Street.”

The intersection was also included in earlier changes to keep more cut-through traffic on Duke Street and out of nearby residential neighborhoods.

Final concepts for the new intersection are expected to be finished in spring 2023, with construction starting in 2025 or 2026 with a year of construction.

Via Google Maps

Twelve hours after a pedestrian was struck by a driver in the Landmark neighborhood, a crash between the drivers of a Ford Explorer and a motorcycle left the biker with life-threatening injuries.

The second crash occurred at the intersection of West Braddock Road and High Street near the Rosemont neighborhood.

“There is a heavy police presence at West Braddock Road and High Street,” police said. “This is in response to a two-vehicle crash. One person was transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. APD’s Crash Reconstruction Team is investigating the cause of the crash.”

Earlier that day, a 42-year-old woman was seriously injured crossing South Van Dorn Street when she was hit by the driver of a silver Honda CRV.

According to police:

The Alexandria Police Department is investigating a traffic crash that occurred on Monday, October 17, 2022, in the 500 block of South Van Dorn Street.

At approximately 6:36 AM, police responded to the area for a pedestrian struck in the 500 block of South Van Dorn Street. The preliminary investigation suggests a 42-year-old female, was crossing South Van Dorn Street when she was struck by a silver Honda CRV traveling northbound on South Van Dorn Street. The female was transported to the hospital in critical condition with life-threatening injuries.

The driver of the silver SUV remained on the scene.

MOTORCYCLE CRASH WITH CRITICAL INJURY— High St at West Braddock Rd in Alexandria. Ford Explorer vs. motorcycle with the adult male motorcyclist in traumatic cardiac arrest. #VATraffic @AlexandriaNow pic.twitter.com/bAJcySN9s7

— Alan Henney (@alanhenney) October 18, 2022

A pedestrian has been transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries after being struck by a driver on Van Dorn Street this morning.

Alexandria Police spokesman Marcel Bassett said around 6:36 a.m. the police received a call about a woman struck by a car. The woman was transported to a hospital while the driver remained on the scene.

According to a release:

The North Bound lanes of Van Dorn Street between Pickett Street and Edsall Road are temporarily closed due to a car crash. The crash involved a pedestrian. The pedestrian was transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. APD is investigating.

As of 9:30 a.m., the northbound lanes of Van Dorn Street between Pickett Street and Edsall Road remain closed.

Things are about to slow down in school zones.

The Alexandria School Board on Thursday (October 6) unanimously approved a resolution requesting a reduction from 25 miles per hour to 15 mph in school zones.

“We are really making our students and our community safe,” said Board Member Abdel Elnoubi, who wrote the resolution. “We’re helping save lives here.”

The resolution now goes to City Council for approval.

The following school zones have 25 mph speed limits:

• N. Beauregard Street — Outside the John Adams Elementary School, William Ramsay Elementary School and Ferdinand T. Day Elementary School zones
• Braddock Road from N. Beauregard Street to Quaker Lane — Outside Alexandria City High School’s Minnie Howard Campus school zone
• Seminary Road (Kenmore Avenue to N. Pickett Street) — In the Francis C. Hammond Middle School zone
• King Street — Alexandria City High School’s school zone

City Council will also review a plan to install Alexandria’s first speed cameras in school zones later this month.

The conversation over a speed limit reduction and cameras installation began after a nine-year-old girl was hit by a car and seriously injured just outside Jefferson-Houston Elementary School in March.

It’s been a rough week for Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), and to top things off: someone hit a Metro work vehicle in the Braddock neighborhood this afternoon.

The crash occurred around 2:30 p.m. on Oronoco Street near the intersection with N Henry Street.

There were no injuries in the crash and Oronoco Street was not closed, though the lane closure did cause a significant backup — though at least this time WMATA isn’t to blame for the delay.

James Cullum contributed to this story

A new study shows that the most dangerous area for pedestrians is Old Town.

The law firm of Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp commissioned the study, which identified 20 areas, and was conducted by California-based 1Point21 Interactive.

The study, which includes an interactive map, tabulated more than 11,000 crashes between 2015 and 2022, with the most in Alexandria’s Old Town Historic District.

There were 68 crashes and 75 injuries, throughout Old Town. In second place is the MCV and Capitol districts of Richmond with 55 crashes and 56 pedestrians injured, followed by  Clarendon in Arlington County with 52 crashes and 58 pedestrian injuries.

“In Virginia, pedestrian safety is a growing concern. From 2015 through June 2022, over 11,000 pedestrians were struck in the state of Virginia, leaving over 10,000 injured and 848 dead,” according to the study.

The top 20 most dangerous areas are below.

Alexandria is moving forward with plans to install new speed enforcement cameras with public meetings planned this fall ahead of implementation next year.

In a release, the City of Alexandria said the approved speed cameras in school zones are expected to launch in early 2023. The release said the city will provide updates on the program at the:

• Sept. 26: Traffic and Parking Board public hearing
• Oct. 11: City Council legislative meeting

The release said the city is planning to install five cameras in school zones next year.

The new cameras were approved after a driver struck a child at an intersection just outside of Jefferson Houston Elementary School (200 block of North West Street). A state law passed in 2020 authorized the use of speed cameras in school and work zones, and both Arlington and the City of Fairfax have been working on implementing cameras in school zones.

“Speed cameras may be fixed or portable,” the release said. “They are placed along the roadway and automatically record speed limit violations. After a sworn law enforcement officer affirms the violation, a speeding citation is mailed to the vehicle’s owner, lessee, or renter. The maximum fine is $100.”

The city said the speed camera locations will be selected through a data-driven process that considers vehicle speeds, vehicle volume, and the history of crashes nearby.