Herndon’s HawkEye 360 aims high — The Herndon-based company behind a space-based civil global intelligence network successfully sent its first three satellites into orbit last month. [Financial Times]

Bike ban ends — Starting next week, Metro will allow bikes on trains during rush hours, which means Metro riders can now bring their bikes onboard at any time. The ban on bikes during rush hours ends on Monday. [WMATA]

Metro crime decreases — Metro recently announced there were fewer serious crimes on the transit system in 2018 than any year since 1999. The decline was driven mostly by a 19 percent reduction in theft. Robberies decreased 6.2 percent and aggravated assaults declined at slightly 3 percent. [WMATA]

County tallies up most traffic fatalities statewide — Fairfax County had the most traffic fatalities in 2018 in Virginia with 44 deaths — an increase from 35 in 2017. On Dec. 30, a 16-year-old South Lakes High School student died after a hit-and-run in Reston. [DCist]

Family and friends gathered on Sunday evening at the spot where 16-year-old Marvin Daniel Cruz Serrano was killed Saturday.

They placed a white wooden cross with “Daniel” near the intersection where the South Lakes High School sophomore was struck by a vehicle while returning home from work at Reston’s Cafesano, WJLA reported.

The memorial continues to grow with several bouquets of flowers and a stuffed animal for the teen who friends called “kind and selfless.” Serrano leaves behind his mother and a 2-year-old brother.

In a message sent to the school community Monday evening, Principal Kim Retzer said funeral arrangements are still being planned.

Fairfax County Police are still looking for the driver, who fled the scene. Detectives believe the sedan involved “may possibly be gray or silver, and it likely has significant front end damage.”

“At about 5:40, officers responded to the report of a pedestrian hit-and-run crash on South Lakes Drive and Castle Rock Square in Reston,” police said in a press release. “The teen was attempting to cross South Lakes Drive… when he was hit by a vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene.”

The fatal hit-and-run was the 44th road death in Fairfax County in 2018 — the most for any county in Virginia last year, according to DCist.

Police are asking anyone with information about the fatal hit-and-run to contact the Crash Reconstruction Unit witness phone line at 703-280-0543 or to submit a tip anonymously through Crime Solvers.

16-year-old Daniel Serrano’s grief-stricken mother nearly collapsed during the vigil for her son who was killed by a hit and run driver. This was an incredibly emotional story to cover. I broke down in tears.
Fairfax County Police are searching for the driver. pic.twitter.com/1098jCvFAD

— Victoria Sanchez (@VictoriaSanchez) December 31, 2018

The memorial for 16-year-old Daniel Serrano continues to grow. pic.twitter.com/AMVBupkGw7

— Victoria Sanchez (@VictoriaSanchez) December 31, 2018

Family & friends tell us 16yo Daniel Serrano was a cashier at a restaurant in Reston. He worked hard to help his family. They say he was coming home from work and crossing South Lakes Dr. when police say a driver hit him/didn’t stop. Serrano didn’t survive. @fox5dc pic.twitter.com/SfEelex8xP

— Evan Lambert (@EvanLambertTV) December 31, 2018

Photo via Madison Grace Shannon/Facebook

A construction worker from Herndon died the day before Thanksgiving after succumbing to injuries from a fall in the Ashburn area, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office.

At 10:20 a.m. last Wednesday (Nov. 21), deputies discovered Jose Escalante, 49, had fallen between 10 to 29 feet to the ground from a ladder. He had been doing construction work at a residence on the 22000 block of Dolomite Hills Drive, police said.

“All indications are this was an accident,” a spokesman for the sheriff’s office told Reston Now.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration also responded to the scene, according to police.

Escalante succumbed to his injuries after being taken to a local hospital, police said.

Map via Google Maps

Darwin Martinez Torres, 25, pleaded guilty today (Nov. 28) to raping and murdering Nabra Hassanen of Reston, according to news reports.

His trial was set for January, according to the Fairfax Circuit Court Clerk’s Office.

The prosecution agreed not to pursue the death penalty after consulting with the Hassanen’s family, NBC 4 reported.

Torres’ defense team said Torres has a learning disability and a low IQ, but that he is competent enough to take responsibility for the crime and to plead guilty to eight counts in Hassanen’s murder trial, ABC 7’s Tim Barber tweeted.

The plea deal imposes a life sentence, and he will not be eligible for probation, the Associated Press reported.

Prosecutors in the case planned to introduce evidence that Torres was a member of MS-13, though police are not saying that the crime was gang-related, according to the Washington Post.

The Washington Post also reported that Torres’ defense team planned to allege that Torres is intellectually disabled as a result of toxins in a gold mine near where he grew up in El Salvador.

Torres faces the possibility the deportation after ICE placed a detainer on Torres following his arrest.

Hassanen was attacked when she was walking with a group of Muslim teens after a Ramadan service at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society Center in Sterling in June 2017. Fairfax County police say Hassanen was attacked with a baseball bat before she was abducted, sexually assaulted and killed.

Her body was found in a pond near Torres’ apartment.

Police said they believed the crime was not motivated by Hassanen’s religion, but by a road rage incident.

Hassanen’s death drew widespread attention, with #JusticeForNabra vigils held in Reston and across the country.

NOW: Nabra’s family says the hearing was painful. But they thank prosecutors for their work. pic.twitter.com/qIcuJO8Vkn

— Tim Barber (@ABC7TimBarber) November 28, 2018

Photos via FCPD and LaunchGood.com

Jeff Davidson, a councilman in the Town of Herndon, died Saturday after suffering injuries from a car accident in late March.

The announcement was made by the Town of Herndon’s Mayor Lisa Merkel.

“The Council and I are keeping his family in our thoughts,” Merkel wrote in a Facebook post.

Police said Davidson was injured in a crash on Catoctin Hallow Road in Frederick, Md.. The car he was driving crashed into a guardrail and drifted into a southbound lane. The car then crashed into a pick-up truck, police said.

The other driver was not injured.

Davidson lived in Herndon since 1986 and retired from federal service, with a position as a leader and manager at the U.S. Department of Defense, according to his website.

Information on funeral arrangements have not yet been made public.

Photo via Jeff4Herndon

Like most people, you probably have set all sorts of goals for 2018.

Do these goals include: putting a plan in place for who will care for your minor children if you and your spouse passes away? Who will make financial and health care decisions for you if you become incapacitated? Who will receive your property in the event of your death?

If you believe planning for your family’s protection is important, perhaps the most important goal for 2018 should be to create an estate plan.

A basic estate plan typically includes a will or trust, and power of attorney for property management, financial decisions and health care.

Why is an estate plan important? Because if you do not make these decisions yourself they will be made for you by a court.

Why do you need a will? A will accomplishes three main objectives:

1. To name a guardian for your minor children if both you and your spouse die. What decision could be more important that who will care for your child and manage his or her finances? Enough said.
2. To name an executor of your estate to collect your assets, pay your debts and distribute your assets to your beneficiaries. The executor is someone you trust that is competent to carry out your wishes when you are gone. If your estate includes a business, your executor can also operate the business until the estate is settled. Without a will, the probate court will appoint an administrator, and the poor soul will have to guess his or her way through probate.
3. To specify the people or charitable organizations that you want to receive your assets. In the absence of a will, your assets will be divided between your surviving relatives (this includes your spouse, children, step-children, parents and siblings) according to state law. This means the state dictates who will receive your property and in what proportion.

A will also gives you control over when your children will receive your assets.

If you die without a will, a court must appoint and supervise a guardian to manage any property your minor child receives from your estate, retirement account or life insurance policy, until the child turns 18. Wouldn’t you want to prevent the undesirable outcome of your child receiving a lump sum inheritance at age 18?

By setting up a trust in your will to hold your child’s share of the estate you ensure proper management of the funds you worked so hard to leave them until they reach a more mature age.

Why do you need a power of attorney?

What happens if you become incapacitated? Do you want your loved ones to have to ask a judge to name someone to manage your financial affairs? Wouldn’t you rather pre-designate that person and make sure they are prepared for this responsibility?

With a general (or “durable”) power of attorney, you name an agent to manage your property and financial affairs if you become incapacitated. A health care power of attorney appoints an agent to make health care decisions for you if you cannot act for yourself.

A spouse can make decisions regarding jointly held property absent a power of attorney; otherwise a court must appoint a guardian of your property to access your accounts to pay your bills, and make decisions regarding living arrangements and medical care.

Be proactive in 2018. Contact us to set up a consultation and take the necessary steps to protect yourself and your family.