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A 33-year-old woman was killed and her 5-year-old child is hurt after a driver hit them in the Mount Vernon area of Fairfax County on Wednesday night and took off, authorities say. A search for the driver is underway.
Erica Tibbs, of Alexandria, was the victim, police said in a statement Thursday evening.
Tibbs and her child were crossing Richmond Highway (Route 1) at Buckman Road from west to east when a northbound driver hit them. Officers responded at about 8:35 p.m.
Tibbs and the 5-year-old were rushed to a hospital. Tibbs died, and her child was in stable condition, police said Thursday evening.
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The driver who hit them was in a 2007 Chevrolet Suburban and “abandoned the vehicle a short distance away and fled before the police arrived,” police said.
Richmond Highway is the site of repeated pedestrian crashes. Transportation officials lowered the speed limit from 45 mph to 35 mph in spring 2023 to try to make it safer for drivers, cyclists, pedestrians and transit users. No information was released on how fast the driver who hit Tibbs and her child was going.
Tibbs and her child were not in a crosswalk when the driver him them, police said. The location is near bus stops and a Costco store, and about 2 miles north of George Washington’s Mount Vernon.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with potentially relevant information is asked to contact police, including by submitting a tip anonymously.
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