Police target pedestrian safety

Police officers were out on Little River Turnpike in Annandale Wednesday evening distributing fliers to residents and motorists in an effort to increase pedestrian safety. Another team of officers will do the same along Leesburg Pike on Friday, Nov. 21. The goal is to target pedestrians not using crosswalks and raise awareness among drivers to the dangers of people crossing roadways when it’s dark.

A police officer talks to a pedestrian on Little River Turnpike in Annandale.

This campaign is part of a new pedestrian education initiative launched by the Fairfax County Police Department on Oct. 31. Since then, two pedestrians have been struck in the Annandale area – a 62-year-old man was killed crossing Columbia Pike Nov. 12, and a 36-year-old woman suffered life-threatening injuries after being struck by a car on Braddock Road Nov. 6 – and a moped driver was run over and killed on Wilson Boulevard in Seven Corners on Oct. 31.  All those accidents happened at night.


Earlier this fall, a 61-year-old woman was killed crossing Leesburg Pike near Row Street on the night of Oct. 16, and two Glasgow Middle School students suffered minor injuries when struck by a car on their way to the bus stop on Oct. 24. Last April, a Virginia State Trooper struck a pedestrian in Annandale.