Crime & Safety
Fatal Alleyway Crash: Victim Identified, Driver Charged
Police said the 92-year-old driver accidentally hit one man while attempting to park, injuring him, then accelerated and hit the deceased.
ALEXANDRIA, VA — The man killed in a tragic alleyway crash in Old Town Tuesday has been identified.
Police said 44-year-old Jeremais Herrera Rodriguez of Alexandria was killed when an elderly driver accidentally hit him while driving through an alleyway located off the 100 block of S. Fairfax Street Tuesday morning shortly after 10 a.m.
Leonard Wainstein, 92, of Fairfax, has been charged with two counts of reckless driving, according to Alexandria Police.
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Police said their investigation so far has indicated that Wainstein was attempting to park in a parking lot when he backed up and accidentally hit a 49-year-old parking attendant, who sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
It appears the driver then abruptly accelerated forward after hitting the parking attendant, and accidentally hit Rodriguez, a maintenance worker.
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Police responded to the scene at approximately 10:09 a.m. Rodriguez was pronounced dead at the scene.
Members of the police department's Crash Reconstruction Team are still investigating, but said the elderly driver remained on the scene after the accident and is cooperating.
Alexandria Police ask that any witnesses or people with information regarding the incident contact Investigator Diana Barrett at 703-746-6873.
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