A man was struck and killed Sunday at the intersection of Old Keene Mill Road and Backlick Road in Springfield, and the driver who hit him fled the scene in what police believe may have been a white SUV. The pedestrian was taken to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. His identity has not been released.
According to WJLA, crash reconstruction detectives with Fairfax County police are now investigating the circumstances of the collision. As reported by DC News Now, Fairfax County police said they are searching for the white SUV believed to be involved. All eastbound lanes of Old Keene Mill Road at Backlick Road were closed following the crash, and officers urged drivers to find an alternate route. Anyone with information about the crash or the suspect vehicle is asked to call 911.
A Road With a Troubled History
This is not the first fatal crash near this stretch of Springfield. Fairfax County police said detectives investigated another fatal pedestrian crash at Old Keene Mill Road and Hanover Avenue on November 16, 2025, when officers responded just after 8 p.m., per a release from the Fairfax County Police Department. In that case, the victim, Marcos Ramirez, was initially taken to a hospital with injuries believed to be non-life-threatening, but detectives were later notified by the Medical Examiner's Office that he had died from his injuries on November 28.
Old Keene Mill Road has seen a string of deadly wrecks in recent years. Four people, including two pedestrians, died in crashes on the road in 2024, and a report from ffxnow.com describes a June 9 crash in which 49-year-old Alexandria resident Charity McGhee veered off the road near Tiverton Drive and struck a guardrail. McGhee died at the scene, while two male passengers were taken to a hospital, one in life-threatening condition. The same report notes that another pedestrian died after being struck by a sedan driver at Hanover Avenue in November 2025, less than a mile from where McGhee was killed.
Fatalities Climbing Countywide
The Springfield crash lands amid a sharp rise in traffic deaths across Fairfax County this year. Traffic fatalities have climbed from 11 at this point in 2025 to 26 so far in 2026, according to NBC Washington. Of those, 11 have been pedestrian deaths and 15 have been vehicle deaths, the station reports. Fairfax County police are stepping up traffic enforcement in response, and officers say many of the drivers they pull over are traveling 20 to 30 mph over the posted speed limit.
Police are also planning another wave of their road shark enforcement campaign, aimed at cutting down on aggressive driving, in the coming month, per the same report. Earlier this year, ffxnow.com reported that four pedestrians were killed on Fairfax County roads within two days in June, pushing the year's pedestrian death toll into double digits and matching the county's total for all of 2023. The county has also seen multiple fatal pedestrian crashes in recent years.
Pattern of Drivers Fleeing the Scene
Sunday's hit-and-run also echoes a troubling pattern of drivers abandoning the scene after fatal pedestrian strikes in the county. In a separate crash on September 13, 2024, a driver struck and killed 43-year-old Springfield resident Cesar Pasassi on the sidewalk along the eastbound lanes of Franconia Road and then abandoned the vehicle and fled before police arrived, according to Fairfax Connection. As of September 24, 2024, that same report noted police were investigating four fatal pedestrian crashes, including the September 13 crash, bringing that year's total to 15 pedestrians killed.
Under Virginia law, a driver involved in a crash that injures or kills someone is required to stop immediately as close to the scene as possible without obstructing traffic, per Virginia Code § 46.2-894. Investigators have not said whether the driver in Sunday's Springfield crash has been identified, and no arrest or vehicle recovery has been reported. The crash reconstruction unit's investigation remains open as police continue to ask the public for help locating the white SUV and its driver.
