The Fairfax County Police have released a map that outlines all 1,874 reported crashes involving youth drivers in 2015.
Said police: “Each dot has its own sad story; from parking lot fender benders to crashes with property damage, vehicle damage, personal injury and death.”
The purpose of showing the stats in a graphic (see below) is part of a police campaign to encourage safe teen driving as summer approaches.
Consider these topics, police say:
Driving sober (free from alcohol and/or drugs): Police say prevention is key and impairment begins with the first drink. Besides that, it is  unlawful for anyone under 21 to operate any motor vehicle after illegally consuming alcohol. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), car crashes are the leading cause of death for teens, and about a quarter of those crashes involve an underage drinking driver. NHTSA also reports that kids who start drinking young are seven times more likely to be in an alcohol-related crash.
Driving in inclement conditions (e.g. rain, fog, snow): Talk about safe speeds for weather conditions, driving on ice and other weather conditions.
Vehicle equipment safety: Operable windshield wipers, horn, brakes, lighting are just examples of a few considerations when keeping a vehicle functioning, safe, and legal while increasing safety for everyone on our roadways, police said.
Distracted driving: Texting and driving is illegal in Virginia and most other states now, and that mobile phones or other devices may be illegal to use period depending on your age. Distracted driving is not only texting, it is talking to passengers, operating a radio or GPS, doing makeup or hair…it is any behavior that detracts from the primary function of driving.
Seatbelt use: Use them every time.
See more from Fairfax County Police, including laws for teen drivers, on Fairfax County Police’s news blog.
The driver of a pickup truck hit a electrical pole on Reston Avenue between Reston Parkway and Leesburg Pike about 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
The crash knocked over the pole and live power lines.
The road was closed as of 4:30 p.m. as law enforcement officials and Dominion Virginia Power personnel cleared the scene.
There were no injuries. Witnesses said the driver said he swerved to avoid an animal.
A 30-year-old Reston man was killed last week when he crashed the stolen car he was driving in Rockbridge County, Virginia State Police officials said.
State Police said the crash happened Friday around 5:50 a.m. on Route 850 near Lexington, Va.
Authorities said the 2007 Lexus Rx-350 involved in the crash was stolen from Fairfax County last week.
The driver of the vehicle was identified as Bradley Charles Kilpatrick of Reston. State police say Kilpatrick was not wearing a seatbelt and died at the scene.
The crash remains under investigation.
According to Fairfax County Court records, Kilpatrick had a long list of driving and car theft charges in the last several years. Among them: Grand Larceny Auto Theft (three charges), driving with a suspended license, and fugitive from an arrest warrant.
Photo courtesy of Virginia State Police
South Lakes High School Class of 2014 graduate Michelle Buck was struck and killed by a driver Thursday in Collegeville, Pa., police there said.
Buck was a sophomore Dean’s List student at Ursinus College in Collegeville.
According to news reports, Buck was struck and killed at around 6:30 p.m. Police said Buck was walking east on the Main Street sidewalk and had stepped into a crosswalk when she was hit by a Nissan Rogue SUV. The Nissan was also traveling east. The driver did stop.
Police told local TV stations the driver is a local resident who is cooperating with the investigation.
“It is tragic when we lose a member of the Ursinus family,” said Ursinus President Brock Blomberg, in a message to campus following the accident. “Please join me in keeping her family and friends in your thoughts and prayers. I encourage all of us to find comfort and support in one another during this trying time.”
Buck, from the Fox Mill area of Herndon, had recently declared her intention to double major in philosophy and neuroscience, the school said.
Joel Bish, associate professor of psychology, said in a statement that Buck was a “delightful student” who was “quiet and unassuming, diligent and respectful.”
At South Lakes, Buck was active in the strings program, and continued playing in a violin ensemble in college.
Service information is pending.
Read more on Ursinus College’s website.
Two people were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries when a driver accidentally drove his 1996 Lincoln Town Car into an office building in the 11300 block of Sunset Hills Road, Fairfax County Police said.
The incident occurred about 1 p.m., said police.
Fairfax County Police officer Tawny Wright said an elderly man got into his car and prepared to back away, but instead hit the gas and drove forward.
A patient in the lobby of the doctor’s office where the car landed was also injured.
Both the driver and the bystander were taken to Reston Hospital Center, police said.
Photo: Car crashes into building/Credit: FCPD
One person was injured in a two-car crash at South Lakes Drive and Ridge Heights Road on Tuesday afternoon.
Fairfax County Police said the driver of a Toyota Prius was heading southbound on South Lakes and was broadsided by the driver of a Lexus sedan, who was trying to turn onto South Lakes from Ridge Heights.
The accident occurred about 2:15 p.m. One driver was taken away by ambulance with non-life threatening injuries, police said.
South Lakes drive was briefly closed, but re-opened about 3 p.m.
Fairfax County Police have identified the pedestrian killed in an early morning crash on Wiehle Avenue Wednesday as Silvia Raquel Corella Erazo, 72, of Reston.
Police are still investigating the crash that occurred at 6:25 a.m. on Wiehle southbound near Chestnut Grove Square.
Detectives from the FCPD’s Crash Reconstruction Unit are still investigating this crash, said police.
At this point, they say a 30-year-old Sterling-area man was driving a 2005 Honda Accord south on Wiehle toward the Metro station around 6:25 a.m. when he drove past the entrance of the Chestnut Grove community complex.
At the same time and location, Corella Erazo was crossing Wiehle Avenue on foot, from east to west. She was able to cross the northbound lanes of traffic and part of the southbound lanes before she was struck by the right, front portion of the Accord.
This crash investigation is ongoing, and neither speed nor alcohol appear to be factors in the crash, police said. There are no crosswalks at this location.
The victim was transported to Reston Hospital Center with life-threatening injuries and died a short time later.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Solvers electronically by visiting www.fairfaxcrimesolvers.org or text-a-tip by texting “TIP187” plus your message to CRIMES(274637)** or by calling 1-866-411-TIPS(8477).
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Photo: Police investigate crash at Wiehle and Chestnut Grove/Credit: FCPD
A 42-year-old Reston man was killed early Wednesday when his Volvo ran off the road and hit a tree near Newport News, Virginia State Police said.
Authorities said Charles Carroll Roder III was driving westbound on I-64 about 3:55 a.m. when the crash occurred, the Daily Press reported.
Roder suffered major injuries and was taken to Riverside Regional Medical Center, where he died from his injuries, chpolice said.
Roder was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash and alcohol did not appear to be a factor in the accident, police said.
There are several upcoming funeral and memorial services for the three former Herndon High School students who were killed in a Texas car crash last Friday.
Holly Novak, 18, Kyle Mathers, 19, and Dale Neibaur, 19, were killed when a wrong-way driver slammed into them near Dallas as they headed to a video game convention last week. The driver, Kenneth Frazier, 78, also died in the crash.
Two other teens in the SUV, Kevin DiCicco and Hannah Galbraith, both students at University of Mary Washington, were injured in the crash. They are continuing to recover in a hospital.
Novak, Mathers, Neibaur and DiCicco were all members of the Pride of Herndon Marching Band. They graduated in 2014.
Kyle Mathers
Mathers’ funeral will be today at 11 a.m. at Trinity Presbyterian Church, 651 Dranesville Rd. in Herndon.
In lieu of flowers, donations of remembrance can be made to the Herndon Band Relief Fund, which will help the families with funeral expenses.
Holly Novak
A funeral for Holly Novak, who lived in Reston, will be Saturday in Calumet, Mich.
There will also be a local memorial service on Monday, Aug. 17 at 3 p.m. at Reston Bible Church, 45650 Oakbrook Ct, Sterling. A reception will follow the service for friends and family.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to either of Holly’s favorite charities:
The Herndon Relay for Life event for the American Cancer Society (you can donate in Holly’s name via this link on the Relay for Life site) or to the Herndon Band.
Dale Neibaur
A Memorial Service for Dale Neibaur will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Trinity Presbyterian Church, 651 Dranesville Rd, Herndon. A reception will follow the service in the Fellowship Hall.
Neibaur’s family also requests memorial donations to the Herndon Band Relief Fund.
On Sunday, hundreds of current and former Herndon High School band members, along with friends and family, attended an emotional joint vigil at Trinity Presbyterian.
Community members are also organizing meals and restaurant gift cards for the families for the coming weeks. Follow this Sign Up Genius link if you wish to contribute.
Hundreds of Herndon High School friends, families, students and former students gathered at Trinity Presbyterian Church on Sunday to remember the three Class of 2014 graduates killed in a Texas car crash on Friday and offer prayers for the two teens still recovering in a Dallas hospital.
Holly Novak, 18, of Reston, and Dale Neibaur and Kyle Mathers, both 19, died in the crash near Greenville, Texas, after a wrong way driver hit their SUV about 2 a.m. on Friday. The 78-year-old driver, Kenneth Frazier, also died in the accident.
Two others, Kevin DiCicco, 19, of Herndon, and Hannah Galbraith, 18, of Virginia Beach, were injured in the accident.
The five were heading to a video game convention in Austin when the accident occurred.
Four of the teens were former Pride of Herndon band members: Novak (drum major), Mathers (pep band manager), Neibaur (trombone section leader) and DiCicco (pit section leader).
Mathers was a member of Trinity Presbyterian, where Assistant Pastor Rebecca Messman spoke fondly of him.
“These were the best of friends,” she said. “Kyle was the leader of our youth group. We were so proud of who they were. The outpouring of support for our community has been unbelievable.”
“We are facing unspeakable grief,” she said. “But we will get through this together.”
Herndon Mayor Lisa Merkel said she has been touched by the community support.
“It is a just a tragedy for these families,” she said. “The community is coming together to support them the best we can. It says a lot of about Herndon.”
The prayer service and gathering was closed to media, but many current and former band members brought instruments to honor their friends with music. Memorial ribbons in red and black — Herndon High’s colors — were distributed to all attendees.
There has been a fund set up to help the families of Mathers, Novak and Neibaur with funeral expenses. To donate, send a check to Trinity Presbyterian Church, 651 Dranesville Road, Herndon, VA 20170-3308. Attention:Â Herndon Band Relief Fund. (If you want a tax-deduction receipt, attach to your check the note saying, “please send tax deduction form.”)
Friends of Galbraith have set up a Go Fund Me page to aid with medical expenses for DiCicco and Galbraith, who are both students at University of Mary Washington.
There will be grief counselors available at Herndon High on Monday, school principal William Bates said.
Photos: Top – Memorial rock at Herndon High painted Saturday; Bottom – Kyle Mathers, Holly Novak and Dale Neibaur/Courtesy Pride of Herndon Band via Facebook
The two teenagers who survived a car crash that killed three recent graduates of Herndon High School remain hospitalized in Dallas, Texas Department of Public Safety officials said.
Hannah Galbraith, 18, of Virginia Beach, and Kevin DiCicco, 19, of Herndon, both rising sophomores at University of Mary Washington, are being treated at Parkland Hospital in Dallas.
Their friends Kyle Mathers, Dale Neibaur and Holly Novak — all members of the Herndon High School Class of 2014 — were killed in the accident early Friday morning.
Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Kyle Bradford said the accident occurred about 2 a.m., when an elderly wrong-way driver hit the teens’ SUV head-on as they drove down Interstate 30 heading to a weekend video game conference in Austin.
The wrong-way driver and the SUV were then hit by an 18-wheeler. The truck driver was not injured. The wrong-way driver, Kenneth Frazier, 78, was also killed, as was his dog, Bradford said.
Bradford told Reston Now there appears to be no evidence of alcohol or drugs for Frazier, but toxicology results will take several weeks.
“There is nothing that stood out,” he said. “No beer cans or anything. Most often investigations like this lead to alcohol or drugs, but sometimes it can lead to an elderly driver with impairments.”
Herndon Principal William Bates sent an email to families late Friday.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of these young people,” he said. “We think of Herndon High School as one big family, and we mourn the loss of these three young people who had such promising futures.”
Bates said counselors will be at Herndon High School next week in the event that anyone needs to talk to them.
Four of the teens were former Hornet marching band members: Novak (drum major), Mathers (pep band manager), Neibaur (trombone section leader) and DiCicco (pit section leader; also a 2014 graduate), the Pride of Herndon Band Facebook page confirmed.
Herndon High Band Director Kathleen Jacoby said the four former Herndon students really helped set the tone for today’s marching band.
“They were known for taking underclassmen under their wing,” she said. “They really shaped the way our band is now.”
Jacoby said the band community is “full of grief and in a state of shock right now.” Students and former students gathered late into the night Friday sharing stories and making a poster board of memories of their friends.
There will be a vigil for the five Sunday at 6 p.m. at Trinity Presbyterian Church, 651 Dranesville Rd., in Herndon. Read More
Three teenagers who graduated from  Herndon High in 2014 were killed early this morning after a driver going the wrong way slammed into their car on a Texas highway.
Texas Department of Public Safety officials confirmed Kyle Mathers, 19, Holly Novak, 18, and Dale Neibaur, 19, died in the crash near Greenville, Tex.
Two others, Kevin DiCicco, 19, and Hannah Galbraith, 18, were injured in the crash and are at Parkland Hospital in Dallas.
Four of the students were former Hornet band members: Novak (drum major), Mathers (pep band manager), Neibaur (trombone section leader) and DiCicco (pit section leader), the Pride of Herndon Band Facebook page confirmed.
Novak lived with her mother in Reston and “was the sweetest and kindest girl ever,” a neighbor said. Novak was a student at Northern Virginia Community College.
Authorities said the teens were heading to a music festival when the fiery crash occurred on Interstate 30.
The teenagers’ SUV was struck head-on by a wrong-way driver at 1:50 a.m., Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Kyle Bradford said.
An 18-wheeler driving behind the accident could not stop in time and slammed into both the SUV and the wrong-way driver’s car. Both vehicles caught fire.
The wrong-way driver, identified as Kenneth G. Frazier, 78, of Royce City, Tex. was also killed in the crash, as was his dog.
Photos: Kyle Mathers, left;Â Holly Novak, right/Credit: Herndon High Yearbook
Police are cleaning up and investigating an collision that took place at Colt’s Neck Road and South Lakes Drive about 3 p.m. on Tuesday.
A Fairfax County Public Schools bus, a Nissan Rogue and a Honda Civic collided, police said.
The cars sustained major damage and were towed from the scene. Police said the drivers of those cars received minor injuries.
The bus was finishing a South Lakes High School route at the time. No students were on board, police said.
The bus suffered minor damage.
As of 3:20 p.m. investigators and the vehicles were still at the scene and traffic in the area has slowed while the investigation continues.
