A teenage girl has died after a car hit her while she walked to her high school in the Bailey's Crossroads area of Fairfax County, Virginia, Wednesday morning, police say.
The teen, identified by family as 17-year-old Lesly Diaz-Bonilla, was in the crosswalk on Columbia Pike at the Tyler Street intersection, when a silver Toyota sedan traveling down Columbia Pike hit her as it drove through the intersection just before 9 a.m.
"I thought it was another car accident until we saw the girl laying [in the street]," Mauricio Reyes said.
Reyes says he hurried toward the fire station just down the street to get help. The driver of a water delivery truck got out and began helping the victim.
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"Our fire and rescue department arrived very quickly, also tried to provide lifesaving measures, but, unfortunately, the victim has succumbed to their injures," Fairfax County Police Lt. Dan Spital said.
One of the victim's white sneakers marked the spot in the crosswalk where she was hit. She was a junior at Justice High School.
The woman driving the Toyota stayed at the scene, police said.
The grief of a parent who has suddenly lost a beloved child poured from Fermin Diaz Argueta, Lesly's father. He said he wanted to see justice for his “little girl,” and changes that would make crossing Columbia Pike safer for everyone.
According to Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid, the teen had just dropped off a younger sibling at a bus stop near the Barcroft View Apartments before the crash.
A number of children and students live at those apartments, and residents said Tyler Street is a common path for those students to get to Justice High School.
Residents in the area said they've complained for years about the crosswalk.
"It’s dangerous. Getting across there is like taking your life in your hands," resident Danny Bailey said.
"Accidents here very often. Traffic here never stops for the pedestrian," resident Jihad Al Jariri said.
The crosswalk is marked with white street markings and large yellow pedestrian crossing signs, but there are no lights at the intersection near Tyler Street.
Al Jariri said he and others have been pushing for years for a pedestrian light.
"I really want to see at least a traffic light just for pedestrians to protect the pedestrians," he said.
Wednesday's crash is also not the first fatal pedestrian incident in the area. In 2018, a mother and daughter were hit in a crash at the same intersection. Both of them survived.
Police said it's too early to determine whether the driver will face any charges in the crash. The Fairfax Commonwealth's Attorney's Office may decide to press charges later.
