Crime, News

Driver Indicted in August Hit-&-Run That Killed F.C. Woman

The driver of a stolen truck who struck and killed a Falls Church woman this past August faces additional charges after he was indicted by a grand jury on Monday.

David Alan Francis.

Betty Ana Bernstein-Zabza, 60, was walking with her son 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 on Aug. 3, Fairfax County Police report. 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. Police believe speed and drugs were factors in causing Francis to lose control of the truck and hit the two victims. Investigators believe Francis stole the truck from a garage in Chantilly earlier that Saturday and crashed five different times before the fatal crash in Falls Church.

Francis was charged with felony hit and run at the time of his arrest and since been charged with felony homicide, aggravated involuntary manslaughter, possession of schedule I/II narcotics and driving under the influence of drugs. He is currently being held at the Fairfax County Police Adult Detention Center without bond.

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