Drag Racing Allegedly Causes Rollins Ford Accident

Posted
Rollins Ford Road Project Image of Rollins Ford Road upon the opening of its extension in 2014.

Prince William Police say speed was a factor in an accident on Rollins Ford Road, Sunday between 2 and 3 p.m., in which the drivers appeared to be racing. Now, a community ponders if steps should be taken to increase driver safety on that road.

According to police, two young male drivers from Gainesville were involved in the accident, a 17-year-old, driving a 2005 Acura TSX and a 20-year-old, driving a 2010 Nissan Sentra.

“ are believed to have been racing down Rollins Ford Road when the Nissan driver cut in front of the Acura vehicle,” said police spokesman, Officer Jonathan Perok. “The Acura driver lost control, hit the curb and rolled twice. Speed is a factor.”

Police charged the juvenile with racing, learning not accompanied by a licensed driver and reckless driving, while the adult was charged with racing.

Police have identified the adult driver, while the juvenile has not been named. Bristow Beat choose to not identify the adult driver since we do not usually report on traffic crimes.

The incident sparked discussion on the Glenkirk Community Facebook page about the speed limit on Rollins Ford Road and whether it is being abused. The thread was started by Natalie Logsdon-Iowe who described the incident in the following way in her post: 

Yesterday afternoon around 2-3 p.m., I witnessed a terrible accident on the corner of Rollings Ford Road and Estate Manor Road. Apparently, some (high school) kids were drag racing down Rollins Ford Road and one of the kids lost control of his vehicle, swerved across lanes, hit the stop sign, jumped the median and rolled his car at least once if not twice- landing in the grass in front of the club house. Fortunately, the kid was not seriously hurt and was taken into custody.

However, Logsdon-Iowe stuck around and witnessed what appeared to be a second drag race.

Soon after the accident, I saw two cars (one red and the other black/dark blue) racing down the road...we all know speeding is a problem, but drag racing in the middle of a Sunday afternoon is a different problem altogether. We need to either reduce the speed limit on Rollins Ford Road, or put more stop signs/lights up on the road to discourage this kind of behavior...as a community we have to protect ourselves and our loved ones.

Logsdon asks if there is a petition to made changes on Rollins Ford Road, and if not, she asked if one could be posted on the Glenkirk page.

Neighbors in the community group disagreed on what steps could be taken to reduce speeding on Rollins Ford Road. Some believed the speed limit should be reduced, but others thought the current speed of 45 miles per hour was sufficient if only drivers would abide by it.

Rollins Ford used to dead end before Broad Run but is now a four-lane road that connects Linton Hall Road to Vint Hill Road. Perhaps due to relatively little traffic congestion on that road, it has gained the reputation as an ideal place to drag racing.

However, in addition to the dangers of drag racing, the road is lined with family-friendly communities. Pedestrians, bicycles and baby strollers utilize the bike path and sidewalks along the road.

Rollins Ford Road is also being considered as the location for the 13th Prince William County High School. That would change traffic patterns, but would also bring in more young drivers.

Perok said he is not aware of racing being a problem in the western part of the county.

accident, bristow, community-2, featured, gainesville, glenkirk, nokesville, police, prince-william-county, rollins-ford-road, speeding