OAKTON, Va. — Students and parents from the Oakton community are mourning the deaths of two high school girls hit by the driver of a BMW while crossing the street. A third teen pedestrian was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Friends and family visited the crash site throughout the day on Wednesday, creating a roadside memorial for the Oakton High School students.
“I heard the news and my body was just shaking for like a good hour thinking about who was the ones who passed away and the one in the hospital,” Ihab Raihanoune, a freshman at Oakton High School, said.
Still seemingly in shock, Raihanoune said he is thinking of his long-time friend who survived the crash. Being at school on Wednesday was just too difficult.
“My mom came to pick me up early because the only thing that's going through my mind is what happened and especially because it's so close," he said. "I pass this route every single day on my bus."
Unable to imagine the pain those parents are feeling, Nezha Babahmed, Ihab's mother, came with her son to pay her respects.
“They're our neighbors in our community," Babahmed said. "I couldn't even go see them because they’re mourning right now. There is nothing you can tell them. Sorry is not going to bring back their kids."
Julie Hinojosa, who dropped off flowers, tried her best to talk about one of her classmates who died. She described the teen as "a really nice student," but said she felt overwhelmed by her emotions, adding she's afraid to walk along the road where her classmate was hit.
“I would say to be safe because I'm also like about to learn how to drive and it's scary to drive out here because you just never know what can happen when you're on the road,” Hinojosa said.
“Especially at younger age, people think it's fun or it's cool to like blast music and just like be speeding down a road," Raihanoune added. "But it's like it's really unsafe and even though it might be fun in the moment."
Oakton High School said they will have counselors for students for the remainder of the school year.
According to Fairfax County Police, the 18-year-old driver of the BMW, who police believe was speeding at the time of the crash, has not been arrested or charged. The department will work with the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney to determine if charges will be filed.
"Preliminarily, detectives do not believe alcohol was a factor," police wrote in a statement Wednesday. "Two passengers in the BMW ran from the scene but were identified during the investigation. Detectives continue to investigate and conduct additional interviews."
Police have also not identified any of the victims.
Fairfax County Police said the girls' deaths mark the 9th and 10th pedestrian-related fatality in the county this year. In all of 2021, they only had 7.