Three people died and a fourth is in the hospital with life-threatening injuries after an overnight crash on I-395 in Arlington, police say. All four are believed to be young people who were in a stolen vehicle.
Just before 1 a.m. Monday, a Virginia State Police trooper attempted a traffic stop on Stevenson Avenue in Alexandria after spotting a stolen vehicle.
Police say the driver of the vehicle, reported stolen out of Prince George’s County on Saturday, refused to stop.
“A pursuit was initiated,” police said.
The vehicle entered I-395 at high speed, heading north toward Shirlington Road. When the driver tried to exit, they lost control on the exit ramp and crashed into the right jersey wall.
There were four people in the vehicle, all believed to juveniles, police said.
One passenger died at the scene. Three other people were taken to hospitals. The driver and another passenger then died.
The last passenger remained hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.
No one in the vehicle was wearing a seat belt, police said.
State police say the trooper pursued the vehicle after the driver took off.
“Every pursuit that occurs is initiated by the violator. If the violator stops the vehicle when law enforcement personnel enforce a legal traffic stop, no pursuit takes place,” they said in a statement.
The Police Executive Research Forum, a group that supports law enforcement by conducting research and studying best practices, said 30% of all police pursuits end in crashes.
“Certainly, we don’t want people engaging in crime and letting them get away. But on the other hand, if it’s a stolen car – no one ever goes to jail for stealing a car. But yet, if you engage in the pursuit of the stolen car and someone dies then people start to ask questions, ‘Was that really necessary?'” Chuck Wexler, the executive director of Police Executive Research Forum, told News4 in an interview this summer.
Wexler said pursuits should only be initiated if the suspect is accused in a violent crime and if they pose an imminent threat.
The crash blocked the I-395 exit ramp to Shirlington for about five hours overnight and later reopened.
Police agencies around the country have reconsidered their policies on pursuits. The Fairfax County Police Department, for example, changed its policy a few years ago and no longer allows pursuits for non-violent felonies.
Virginia State Police said the agency reviews all of its policies and procedures on a regular basis.
