7 still in hospital, Md. man charged after assaults, crashes in Fairfax Co.

Police in Fairfax County, Virginia, are investigating a crash that occurred in the intersection of Centreville Road and Frying Pan Road. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)
Police said the intersection was closed due to the ongoing investigation. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)
(WTOP/Dave Dildine)
(WTOP/Dave Dildine)
(WTOP/Dave Dildine)
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WASHINGTON — Several people are still hospitalized and a man is facing multiple charges after crashes, assaults and a police chase in Fairfax County, Virginia, on Wednesday night.

Fairfax County police have identified Brendan Stefon Vinson, 28, of Adelphi, Maryland, as the suspect behind the alleged crime spree that spanned Centreville and Herndon.

He is still in the hospital with injuries that are not life-threatening, along with a woman and five children who were also involved in Wednesday night’s crash.

Officers had to call for backup Thursday afternoon when Vinson tried to wrestle out of his handcuffs at the hospital, police said.

Around 7:45 p.m. Wednesday, police responded to a report of a person who assaulted a child in the 6100 block of Early Autumn Drive in Centreville, Virginia. A man had randomly knocked on the door of a home and hit the young child who had answered, police said.

The suspect then fled in a stolen vehicle. That vehicle was reported stolen after a carjacking in Hyattsville, Maryland, at around 6 p.m. Wednesday, according to police.

Then, the suspect struck a pickup truck at Stone Road and Lee Highway, got out of the stolen vehicle and took the pickup truck from its driver. He then fled in the pickup truck, and also stole a trailer and attached it to the truck, police said.

Police saw the suspect with the stolen pickup truck and attempted a traffic stop. The suspect did not comply, and police pursued northbound on Centreville Road to the intersection of Frying Pan Road in Herndon, near Dulles International Airport.

The suspect ran a red light and struck a van in the intersection with children in it. The suspect got out of the pickup truck and ran, with police in pursuit.

VInson resisted arrest and assaulted two officers, police said. Those officers are OK, police said later.

In the crash with the van, one child was ejected from the van and flown to a hospital, police said. That child is still in critical condition. The driver and the four other children went to the hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, police said.

Vinson has been charged with speed to elude, carjacking, two assaults on police officers and receiving stolen property, among other charges. Police did not identify him earlier because he did not have any identification on him.

Below is the area where the assault, crashes and police pursuit occurred.

WTOP’s Teta Alim and Liz Anderson 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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