LORTON, Va. — Demands to improve a stretch of road in Fairfax County are growing after two teenagers were killed in a crash.
A new online petition by two community members to request safety measures along Lee Chapel Road garnered nearly 4,000 signatures as of Thursday night.
Neighbors say the road has been a problem for decades.
“You would think that they would keep the road highly maintained due to its high use, but residents have been complaining about the safety of this road for years now,” the petition said.
Fairfax County Police say two teenagers were killed after the car they were in went over a hill in Fairfax Station on Tuesday. The driver reportedly lost control, veered off the road and the car landed on its roof, according to investigators.
Detectives say alcohol was not involved but believe speed played a factor.
A third passenger was sent to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Officials have not released an updated condition.
Police have not identified the identities of the two teenagers killed but friends and family say they were students at South County High School in Lorton.
Friends identified one of the girls as 16-year-old Ashlyn Brotemarkle.
“She was a great friend,” Abby Beverly, her best friend for about six years, told WUSA9. “She always did everything for her friends.”
Since 2013, the number of crashes and injuries along the four-mile stretch of road has been up and down throughout the years. Within the last decade, there have been more than 200 crashes and 123 injuries, according to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.
Prior to this week, there were three fatalities, including in 2015, when 19-year-old Dilbar Noory died after losing control over the same hill. Noory’s family told WUSA9 they were always concerned about Lee Chapel Road.
The blind hill is on a narrow road with no shoulders can pose a risk.
“I don't think there's anyone who has grown up or lived in this area who doesn't know someone affected by an accident or fatality there,” neighbor Tracy Winward said. “Even if you’re the world's most perfect driver, if someone is coming on the other side too fast or not familiar, it's a dangerous situation and no room for error at all.”
Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity has called on Virginia highway officials and the local transportation department to assess the road and implement interim fixes. Herrity said since 2015, he has tried to fund and improve Lee Chapel Road. The proposed project is currently on the unfunded project list.
“Unfortunately, it might take an incident like this to get funded,” Herrity said. “Certainly, the hills need to be taken out, it needs to be widened to four lanes, and add a curb and gutter.”
VERIFY: Is Lee Chapel Road the deadliest road in the area?
Residents told WUSA9 that crashes happen often on Lee Chapel Road and they’re concerned that poor conditions are a danger to their community.
We wanted to know how this road compares to others in the area.
We looked at data from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles to Verify.
Over the last decade, Lee Chapel Road has seen 202 crashes, 123 people injured, and three dead.
That might seem like a lot. The thing is, other roads in the area are worse.
Burke Centre Parkway – which turns into Lee Chapel Road and is a similar length – saw 396 crashes, 243 injuries, and two deaths.
Old Keene Mill Road saw over a thousand crashes, 587 injuries, and six deaths.
So we can verify that, despite the recent tragedy, Lee Chapel road is not the most dangerous in the area.
Bryce Robinson contributed to the reporting of this story.
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