Teen fatally struck by car on Columbia Pike
Lesly Diaz-Bonilla, the 17-year-old fatally struck by a car in Bailey’s Crossroads, “was a beautiful angel” who dreamed of being successful in school and becoming a nurse, said her father, Fermin Diaz Argueta on a GoFundMe page he set up.
The fundraising campaign has already received $20,391, more than double the goal of $10,000.
Lesly was on her way from the Barcroft View Apartments to Justice High School on Nov. 16 and was in a crosswalk on Columbia Pike at Tyler Street shortly before 9 a.m. when she was struck by a westbound 2014 Toyota Camry. She was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced deceased. The woman driving the Camry remained on the scene.
Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid told NBC4 that Lesly had just dropped off a younger sibling at a nearby bus stop before the crash.
According to the Fairfax County Police Department, this is the 18th pedestrian-related fatal crash in 2022. Year to date, there were 11 pedestrian-related fatal crashes in the county in 2021.
NBC4 quotes area residents who said they’ve complained for years about the dangerous crosswalk on Columbia Pike where there are no lights, drivers rarely stop for pedestrians, and there are frequent accidents. The speed limit at that spot is 35 mph.
Diaz Argueta told reporters he wants to see justice for his daughter and safety measures on Columbia Pike.
“Take care of your children because this is painful,” he said in a news report on WUSA9. “I gave my daughter all the love. That’s how life is. Parents, be careful. Drivers should be more cautious because they took my daughter’s life, and next time it could be someone else’s child.”
In 2018, a mother and her 12-year-old daughter were injured by a hit-and-run driver on Columbia Pike at Tyler Street.
There were at least four fatal pedestrian crashes on Columbia Pike in recent years, including one in Bailey’s Crossroads in 2019 and others in Annandale in 2014, 2016, and 2018.
VDOT will do nothing because it stands for Very Dump On Traffic. They are only interested in moving traffic and not managing it for the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and parked vehicles. It’s a huge problem for neighborhood cut throughs and even worse for roads like Columbia Pike. The driver did not kill this beautiful child, VDOT did and the elected officials that give them too much latitude. FFX needs to own their roads and protect all of us from an arrogant and incompetent state agency that has and continues to be a menace to our safety.
Saying that a state government agency somehow killed a pedestrian is utter nonsense. This was the result of an individual making poor choices and driving a car recklessly, without regard for consequences or human life. Saying that an agency kills people is similar to the claim that ‘guns kill people.’ It takes a person behind the gun, behind the car, to “pull the trigger.” So you have to look at who the individual is, why they made the choices they did, and what the consequences should be.
The whole business of crosswalks without lights is BS. People do not stop at the crosswalks – they often speed up. It can be very difficult to judge when you can safely cross where traffic speeds up quickly between lights that are spaced far apart. Hard enough for cars entering and leaving neighborhoods and nearly impossible for pedestrians. I’ve seen too many accidents where people were hit at crosswalks that do not have traffic lights or aren’t set up with enough time for people to safely cross.
Import the third world, get third world drivers.
I remember 30 years ago when that section of Columbia Pike was a pleasant little place to shop and live. Now it’s a complete dump. People drive dangerously because they have no respect.
That crosswalk should have a light, especially for the homeless drug addicts going back and forth between the homeless shelter and the shopping center.
Remember when police stopped law breakers?????
found the racist boomer…..
What was racist about Bud’s post? His description sounds accurate to me. Your post is age-ist, and therefore, bigoted. Pot, meet kettle.
“Import the third world” doesn’t make that statement racist? At the LEAST its elitist. “Import” implies they are things, not people who immigrate. Based on grammar and word choice alone, it is indeed racist. Also – newsflash! There are people addicted to drugs and people without homes ALL OVER THIS AREA. I bet Bud knows at least one person who has died from opiate abuse, but we’ll stop here. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
I can’t believe what I’m reading. Yes this is tragic. Yes there needs to be a traffic light for crossing. Yes the neighborhood has a high percentage of immigrants with large families and young children. Yes all of the DMV has a higher than the rest of country # of drivers that learned in 2nd and 3rd world countries – Thus again, Yes all drivers need more respect for each other and the rules of the road when driving. Yes, we need more enforcement of traffic laws, desperately so. Yes, we can all do better and it starts with each and every one of us. Be nicer, be more careful, slow down, and by all means treat each person as you would want to be treated. Only reason to not treat others with respect and kindness is once they have demonstrated the have none for you, others or themselves. Sadly that is not hard to find among all NOVA. Drivers.
I like this comment. It emphasizes the importance of moral agency and the ability of the individual to make a difference. An individual has the power to decide to drive the speed limit. An individual has the power to decide to learn the laws and obey them (even if it means going only 7 miles per hour over the limit, as opposed to 15 m.p.h, as some people around here are inclined to do).
I personally put in a request with VDOT to look at this intersection. I hope all who have commented take the time to do so as well. Enter a ticket for a need for a sign….https://my.vdot.virginia.gov.
My understanding is there was a truck in the west bond turn lane 3 lanes west and 2 north bond at this intersection. Lesly walked in front of the truck and then was continuing to cross. No light to signal to the driver of someone in the cross walk. The drive could see the green light at the next intersection.