Concerns after 2 more pedestrian deaths on a Fairfax Co. highway.

People who walk along Route 1, Richmond Highway, in Fairfax County, are concerned following two more pedestrian deaths.

The incidents this week brings the number of fatal pedestrian crashes in the county to 12 this year, almost double the number at this point last year.

Keith Thomas, 24, was killed in a crash on Route 1 early Friday, just hours after Fairfax County police announced that Doris Anita McPhail, 56, of Alexandria, had died in a hit-and-run in the area Thursday.

WTOP talked to a man who lives in the area but did not want to give his name.

“People around here — it’s not the most considerate area in Northern Virginia,” he said.

State crash data show 10 fatal crashes on Richmond Highway since 2017.

A public hearing is set for July 20, at which the Virginia Department of Transportation will share its findings and preliminary recommendations from its speed limit study conducted last fall along 7.8 miles of the Richmond Highway. The study was designed to assess the existing speed limit between Fort Belvoir and the Interstate 95/495 interchange, and to determine whether the limit should be changed now for safety reasons.


Kyle Cooper

Weekend and fill-in anchor Kyle Cooper has been with WTOP since 1992. Over those 25 years, Kyle has worked as a street reporter, editor and anchor. Prior to WTOP, Kyle worked at several radio stations in Indiana and at the Indianapolis Star Newspaper.

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