BURKE, Va. — As the memorial along Burke Centre Parkway continues to get larger, calls for change are as well.
Last Tuesday, a teenage girl was killed, and three other teens were seriously hurt after the car they were in was struck by the driver who police believe was speeding.
Police say the driver of a 2014 Cadillac XTS4, an adult man, was heading west on Burke Centre Parkway, when a teenage driver in a 2023 Kia Forte was attempting to exit a parking lot onto the same road and was struck by the driver of the Cadillac.
"It was a tragedy plain and simple," said Fairfax County Police Officer Michael Valentine.
PFC Valentine says all week long you can expect to see extra officers out on patrol specifically focused on Burke Centre Parkway.
"We're looking for speeders," said PFC Valentine.
He's been part of the Motor Unit within the Fairfax County Police Department for more than four years and says speeding is extremely dangerous.
"As we increase the speeds, we put ourselves in danger by decreasing our reaction time, closing the distance between other traffic and ourselves, not to mention these vehicles can have failures," said Officer Valentine.
The Fairfax County Police Department says between January and April of this year there were more than 12 crashes along Burke Centre Parkway, which spans about 3.5 miles. That's compared to 39 crashes in 2022 and 41 crashes in 2021.
Neighbors who live near Burke Centre Parkway say speeding is a major problem along the stretch of roadway.
"It's definitely really busy over here sometimes it's kind of scary," said Sabrina, who lives nearby.
A Change.Org petition calling for the installation of a traffic light at the intersection where the deadly crash happened, had more than 1,600 signatures as of Monday night.
Others told WUSA9 they'd like to see a more permanent police presence along the road.
"It's pretty easy to go fast and not realize it around this curve. So I think if they were to patrol it more it would help," said Richard who lives nearby.
The increased police presence this week is part of the department's High Visibility Enforcement (HIVE) initiative, a program to deter and change dangerous traffic behaviors on Fairfax County roads.
Officer Valentine says speed limit signs are there for a reason, and people need to keep that in mind as they're driving.
"Every speed limit sign or highway or traffic sign has research behind it and some signs have a story behind them. We want to prevent those stories involving traffic related collisions injuries or deaths," said PFC Valentine.