Two juveniles were hurt Tuesday night after a car struck them while they were inside a crosswalk in Ashburn, Virginia. The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office says the children’s injuries are not life-threatening, and the driver remained on scene as deputies opened an investigation into exactly what happened.
The crash happened around 7 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, as first reported by DC News Now. The outlet reports that the children were inside the crosswalk when the vehicle hit them, and that the driver stayed at the scene afterward rather than fleeing.
What Investigators Haven’t Said
Beyond those basic details, much about the crash remains unknown. It’s also unclear exactly where in Ashburn the crosswalk is located, or whether the driver is facing any citations or charges as deputies continue piecing together how the collision occurred.
Virginia law is clear on one point relevant to crosswalk collisions: pedestrians crossing at intersections generally have the right of way over vehicles turning into the roadway, according to Virginia law. It is not yet known whether that provision bears on this particular crash, since the circumstances leading up to the impact have not been detailed publicly.
Other Crosswalk Cases In Loudoun County
This is not the first time Loudoun County deputies have investigated a crosswalk-involved crash. In one prior case, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office said a 75-year-old woman was struck by a Mercedes SUV while she was crossing in a crosswalk. In another, deputies later announced that a 58-year-old Leesburg man, identified as Taylor, was charged with failure to yield to a pedestrian, a Class 1 misdemeanor under Virginia law, following what the sheriff’s office described as an extensive investigation.
Loudoun County has also seen at least one fatal pedestrian crash this year, with the sheriff’s office opening an investigation in January into a deadly collision at the intersection of Claiborne Parkway and Portsmouth. None of those earlier cases are confirmed to be connected to Tuesday’s incident, but they illustrate that crosswalk safety has remained a recurring concern for investigators in the county.
For now, the sheriff’s office has released no further details on the Ashburn crash, and deputies continue investigating what happened. Anyone with information has not yet been given a specific way to come forward, based on what officials have released so far.
