Man Killed, 2 Passengers Badly Injured in Crash

A 21-year-old Great Falls man was killed yesterday, and two other young people were seriously injured, when the car in which they were riding hurtled off the George Washington Memorial Parkway and slammed into a tree, police said.

Jesse Little, who was seated in the rear of the black Lexus, was killed in the crash, just south of Spout Run Parkway, said U.S. Park Police Lt. Scott Fear. Two other back-seat passengers -- a male and a female -- were taken to hospitals, Fear said.

The male passenger is expected to survive; the female remains in critical condition with life-threatening injuries, Fear said. In all, there were five people in the car, all in their teens or early twenties, when the accident occurred about 1:30 a.m., he said.

Fear said the Lexus was traveling south on the parkway went it suddenly left the roadway. He said it plunged down an embankment, struck a tree and came to rest on the side of the road, upright and on its wheels.

The driver was a 17-year-old girl, Fear said, and she and the female in the front passenger seat were able to get out of the Lexus after it crashed. After talking to investigators, those two were taken to a hospital to have minor injuries checked, he said.

Fear said police would not release the names of those injured because they are witnesses.

It remained unclear last night what caused the crash. Fear said investigators are working to determine whether speed or alcohol was a factor and whether charges should be filed. It also was not known whether anyone in the Lexus was wearing a seat belt, he said, or where the group of young people was heading when the car crashed.

"We don't know yet any of those details," he said. "All of it remains under investigation."

A Park Police commander was able to get to the crash within minutes, Fear said. The commander called Arlington County paramedics and firefighters to the site, and they began to extricate the back-seat passengers, Fear said.

The southbound lanes of the parkway were closed between Route 123 and Spout Run Parkway for several hours while the crash was investigated and the vehicle was removed.

Authorities reopened the road just before 6 a.m., as the morning rush started in earnest. They ask that anyone who witnessed the crash call Park Police at 202-619-7310.