A Falls Church woman was killed when she was struck by a stolen car while walking with a boy in a crosswalk near Poplar Heights Pool Saturday afternoon.
Fairfax County Police say 60-year-old Betty Ana Bernstein-Zabza was walking with a boy on a pedestrian pathway adjacent to Shreve Road when they entered a crosswalk and were hit by a stolen pickup truck driven by 46-year-old David Alan Francis of South Riding. Bernstein-Zabza was taken to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead and the juvenile was treated for minor injuries.
Francis ran from the scene but was apprehended and arrested a short time later and charged with felony hit and run. Police believe speed and drugs were factors in causing Francis to lose control of the truck and hit the two victims. Additional charges are anticipated and detectives believe Francis may have been involved in additional criminal events Saturday in both Fairfax County and adjoining jurisdictions.
According to a Fox 5 report, Bernstein-Zabza, a longtime advisor for the U.S. State Department, was walking with her 12-year-old son on a path near Shreve Road when police say Francis, who was speeding around the corner, lost control of the stolen truck before crashing into the pedestrians.
Investigators believe Francis stole the truck from a garage in Chantilly earlier Saturday and crashed five different times before the fatal crash in Falls Church.
Police ask anyone with information about this crash is asked to contact our Crash Reconstruction Unit at 703-280-0543. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Solvers by phone -1-866-411-TIPS ( 866-411-8477 ), by text – Type “FCCS” plus tip to 847411.
