New video shows the moment a Fairfax County police officer’s cruiser struck and killed a woman who was lying in the roadway, waiting for help after an earlier hit-and-run crash in Hybla Valley last month.
Trina Jones, 62, of Alexandria, Virginia, was fatally struck near the intersection of Richmond Highway and Belford Drive on Sept. 23, according to police.
“Please do not tell me I just ran her over,” an officer can be heard saying on footage released by Fairfax County police on Thursday, one month to the day after the crash, in accordance with the department’s policy.
The involved officer is a two-year veteran of the Fairfax County Police Department who is assigned to the Mount Vernon Police District.
The department said he’s on restricted-duty status as it conducts criminal and administrative investigations into the crash.
What happened?
Before officers arrived on the scene, Jones had been struck by a 2016 black Mercedes C300 just before 8:40 p.m. Police said they’re still searching for the car.
The mother of four survived that initial crash and the Mercedes drove away.
“Ms. Jones was alive when our police car made contact with her,” Police Chief Kevin Davis said during a news conference on Thursday. “Those standing on the side of the roadway were pleading with her to get out of the roadway.”
But Davis said multiple witnesses told police, “Ms. Jones indicated to them that she was going to wait for the police.”
Davis said a car was parked in front of Jones, attempting to shield her from any oncoming traffic from the intersection. He moved his car out of the way as the police cruiser and other first responders’ vehicles arrived on the scene.
Video shows the cruiser maneuvering around cars, driving through the intersection and then striking Jones, who seemed to be lying next to the crosswalk, near the middle and right lanes of the roadway.
“That’s when our police officer, young police officer — again, stellar reputation doing great things at the Mount Vernon district in the community — made contact with Ms. Jones,” Davis said. “That contact ended up being fatal for Ms. Jones.”
Footage from the police cruiser shows the cruiser run Jones over, driving between 14 and 17 mph, according to the police investigation.
“There’s no indication that his driving was egregious,” Davis said. “There’s a lot going on at that intersection with the incoming emergency equipment, fire, police, witnesses.”
Jones was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead.
Investigation continues
Davis said the department has made progress in its investigation into locating the black Mercedes allegedly involved in the hit-and-run. But he encouraged anyone who may have spotted the vehicle to contact police.
“Locating that black Mercedes is so important because is there any damage to it? Is there other evidence, or DNA, or indications of a collision that we could estimate the severity of that contact, if any? Was it incidental? Was it injurious? I don’t know,” he said.
Davis said the incident was “traumatic,” all around, for witnesses, the officer and of course, for Jones and her family.
“I don’t want to compare and contrast what the Jones family is going through, because that’s certainly something that is devastating to the family, but what the young police officer goes through, it’s equally challenging and traumatic to him as well,” Davis said.
Police are conducting a criminal investigation, as well as an administrative investigation into the crash. An auditor independent of the department will also investigate.
It’s up to the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office to decide whether to pursue charges.
Separately, the family’s attorney, David Haynes, of The Cochran Firm, said his firm will independently investigate what happened to Jones.
The police department’s performance board will review the crash to see if changes need to be made to training or equipment, according to a news release.
Davis said the department has invested in safety equipment for cruisers, including technology that flags if a pedestrian is approaching a parked police cruiser.
“There’s not a technology that we won’t pursue to ensure that our driving is done as responsibly and safely as possible,” Davis said. “And from this incident, there will undoubtedly be recommendations for us to pursue even more technology and more opportunities to be safe.”
Police posted video of the cruiser striking Jones online, which may be disturbing to some viewers.
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