Woman dies after boy jumps off overpass on I-66

The overpass where a driver was killed by the impact of a falling boy. (WTOP/John Domen)
The overpass where a 12-year-old boy jumped, killing a driver below. (WTOP/John Domen)
The boy who jumped from the overpass was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. (WTOP/John Domen)
(WTOP/John Domen)
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The overpass where a driver was killed by the impact of a falling boy. (WTOP/John Domen)
The person from the overpass was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. (WTOP/John Domen)

WASHINGTON — A woman is dead after a 12-year-old boy jumped from an overpass and landed on her car on Interstate 66 in Fairfax County on Saturday.

Marisa W. Harris, a 22-year-old from Olney, Maryland, was killed while driving east on I-66 when a 12-year-old boy jumped from the Cedar Lane overpass near Nutley Street, Virginia State Police say.

The impact incapacitated Harris, so her front-seat passenger, a 23-year-old man who was not injured, steered the car off the road. Harris died at the scene.

The boy who jumped was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Police are investigating the incident as a suicide attempt.

I-66 between Nutley Street and Gallows road was closed for several hours while police investigated the incident.

Below is the area where the crash happened.

This story was updated to reflect new information from the Virginia State Police.

WTOP’s Reem Nadeem, Jason Fuller, William Vitka and Patrick Roth contributed to this report.

Abigail Constantino

Abigail Constantino started her journalism career writing for a local newspaper in Fairfax County, Virginia. She is a graduate of American University and The George Washington University.

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