A 24-year-old man is facing multiple charges, including driving under the influence, after police say he drove through road closures, crashing into three police cruisers and striking an officer Friday evening during a Christmas tree lighting event in Manassas, Virginia.
Jackson Harlow was taken into custody by city police following the series of crashes, which happened Friday around 7:45 p.m. in Old Town Manassas, according to the city’s police department.
He’s accused of driving with a blood alcohol content level more than double the legal limit in Virginia.
Officers were directing traffic at the intersection of West Street and Center Street when Harlow allegedly ignored instructions and drove through the intersection, hitting road closure barriers, a parked police car and a uniformed officer.
Police said the officer who was hit was left with a “minor injury.”
Another uniformed officer was almost hit by Harlow, and had to dodge the vehicle’s path, police said.
After the initial crash, police said “the vehicle seemingly became inoperable on West Street.”
When officers went up to the vehicle, Harlow accelerated again, swerving onto a sidewalk and hitting a street sign before turning onto Prince William Street, according to police. The vehicle then hit more road-closure fixtures and two more police cars blocking the road, eventually stopping at the intersection of Prince William Street and Liberty Street.
Officers arrested Harlow, who was determined to be intoxicated and was held without bond, police said.
Harlow is charged with two counts of attempted malicious wounding, driving under the influence with a blood alcohol content greater than .20%, disregarding a law enforcement officer’s signal to stop resulting in endangerment, obstruction of justice and two counts of hit-and-run resulting in property damage greater than $250.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
