SUV Crashed into Service Station, Causes Fire
A 46-year-old Reston man has been charged with drunk driving and a hit-and-run Monday, March 20 after crashing his Ford Expedition into the Lake Anne Chevron Service Station on North Shore Drive and then fleeing the scene, police said.
The driver, Charles A. Miller, 46, of Reston, knocked over a fuel pump and then crashed through the large glass window of the three-bay service station, which caught fire, said police.
When police arrived on the scene just minutes after the accident, just before 6 a.m., they found an empty vehicle and a gas fire. “Citizens on the scene said [the driver] took off,” said Fairfax County police spokesman Bud Walker. “Police caught up with the driver about a quarter mile away from the location.”
Miller, who was charged with felony driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor hit-and-run, suffered minor injuries and was taken to Reston Hospital. “His level of intoxication also required some hospitalization,” said Walker.
Firefighters were able to put the fire out pretty quickly, preventing it from extending into other service bays, said Daniel Schmidt, Fairfax County fire spokesman. “The gas pumps have an automatic shutoff and there was very little fuel on the ground,” he said. Damage is estimated at $200,000.
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Monday, March 27, 5 p.m., Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ Public Hearing on Small Tax District 5 at the Fairfax County Government Center, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax.