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Saturday, may 24

Zak Failla

Assistant Managing Editor

zfailla@dailyvoice.com

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Equal parts Lois Lane, J. Jonah Jameson and Vicki Vale, Zak! has traveled from coast-to-coast covering small and big town community news in both in print and online for nearly a decade since his graduation from the award-winning Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College in 2010.

Before settling into the Hudson Valley, Zak! previously spent time in the New York Daily News newsroom and worked for hyperlocal digital news outlets on Long Island. He wrote sports for The Ithacan and The Ithaca Journal before taking his talents to the Pacific Northwest, where he served as the sports editor at the Shoshone News-Press until heading back east to work with Daily Voice.

Zak Failla's Contributions

Schools

Henderson Elementary School Custodian Slapped 8-Year-Old In Cafeteria: PWC Police A Virginia elementary school custodian is facing charges after allegedly smacking an 8-year-old student in the cafeteria, according to Prince William County Police. Miguel Ismael Gonzales Carmona, 76, is accused of slapping the back of the boy’s head during a brief encounter at Henderson Elementary School in Dumfries on Friday, May 16. The two reportedly separated after the incident, and the child told school staff what happened on Monday, May 19, police said. No serious injuries were reported. Following the investigation, Carmona, a Dumfries resident, was arrested that same d…

by Zak Failla

05/21/2025

Police & Fire

Peeping Tom Filmed Woman In Montgomery Mall Fitting Room, Police Say A Maryland man accused of secretly filming a woman in a fitting room at Montgomery Mall has been arrested, Montgomery County Police announced. Javier Armando Pastran Morales, 31, was taken into custody on Thursday, May 15 outside his Rockville home following a monthlong investigation into a Peeping Tom, police said. The arrest follows an incident that happened around 3:10 p.m. on Thursday, April 17, when officers were called to the 7100 block of Democracy Boulevard in Bethesda for a complaint. The investigation revealed that Pastran Morales used his cell phone to allegedly record or photog…

by Zak Failla

05/21/2025

Traffic

Virginia Man Ejected, Then Struck By Car In Violent I-95 Crash In Stafford: State Police A Virginia man was ejected from his speeding car and then struck by another vehicle during a violent crash on I-95 in Stafford County, Virginia State Police said. The three-car crash happened around 8:25 p.m. Saturday, May 17, in the northbound lanes of the interstate, according to Virginia State Police. Joseph Celich, 23, of Stafford, was driving a 2007 Mazda Speed 3 at a high rate of speed when he tried to squeeze between a vehicle in the middle lane and a Hyundai Palisade in the left lane, troopers said. The Mazda collided with the Hyundai, causing it to overturn onto the guardrail. Ce…

by Zak Failla

05/21/2025

Police & Fire

Candle Sparks $500K Edgewood House Fire With Family, Dog Inside An unattended candle sparked a fast-moving fire that tore through a Harford County home with a family and dog inside, state investigators said. The two-alarm blaze broke out around 5:35 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20, at a two-story home on the 3000 block of Ebbtide Drive in Edgewood, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office. Three family members — a mother and her two adult children — were inside the house when a smoke alarm activated and one of them spotted smoke coming from a second-floor bedroom. They tried to douse the fire with a pot of water, but it spread too fast, officials …

by Zak Failla

05/21/2025

Obituaries

Virginia Congressman Gerry Connolly Dies At 74: 'Fierce Defender Of Democracy' Virginia Congressman Gerry Connolly died at home surrounded by family on Wednesday, weeks after announcing his esophageal cancer had returned, his loved ones said. The longtime Northern Virginia lawmaker — who served nearly four decades in public office — passed away peacefully at his Fairfax home on May 21, his family confirmed. “It is with immense sadness that we share that our devoted and loving father, husband, brother, friend, and public servant, Congressman Gerald E. Connolly, passed away peacefully at his home this morning surrounded by family,” the family said in a statement. Conno…

by Zak Failla

05/21/2025

Traffic

Tractor-Trailer Crash Brings I-95 To A Halt In Stafford County (Developing) A tractor-trailer crash brought traffic to a complete stop on I-95 in Stafford County on Wednesday morning, May 21, causing major delays for miles, officials said. All northbound lanes were shut down at mile marker 142.8, just past Exit 140 (Courthouse Road), around 10:30 a.m., according to Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) officials. “Traffic is currently getting around the crash scene using the interstate shoulders,” VDOT Fredericksburg posted on X at 10:24 a.m. Nine minutes later, they confirmed that “traffic has now also been stopped on the shoulders.” The crash caused traff…

by Zak Failla

05/21/2025

Police & Fire

Pasadena Mother Found Dead In Suspected Overdose Was Actually Murdered, Police Say A Maryland mother who was first believed to have overdosed was actually murdered, Anne Arundel County Police confirmed Tuesday. Officers were called to the 1200 block of Lorene Court in Pasadena around 6:05 a.m. on Friday, April 4, for a report of a possible overdose, according to police on May 20. At the scene, officers found evidence of narcotics, but also signs of an assault, the department said. The victim, identified as 34-year-old Heather Elizabeth Beaver, was rushed to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries, but was pronounced dead a short time later, police said. Detecti…

by Zak Failla

05/20/2025

News

13-Year-Old Girl Dies At Hospital After Scooter Crash With Driver In Sterling, Police Say The teen girl who suffered critical injuries after being struck by a driver while riding her scooter has died from her injuries, state police confirmed on Tuesday. A 13-year-old was struck at around 7:30 p.m. on Monday, May 19, officials said, while crossing the intersection of Nokes Boulevard and City Center Boulevard on a scooter in Sterling. The following day, a Virginia State Police spokesperson said that the girl succumbed to her injuries, and the driver will not be charged. The driver was traveling westbound on Nokes Boulevard in the left lane and stopped as soon as the incident…

by Zak Failla

05/20/2025

Police & Fire

Missing Virginia Teens Airlifted After Hit-Run Crash; Driver Tracked Down, Sheriff Says Two missing teens were flown to a Virginia hospital hospital after a hit-and-run driver hit them and took off, authorities say. Thomas Dawson, 71, of Remington, was arrested on Sunday, May 18, and charged with two felony counts of hit and run causing personal injury, according to the Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office. The incident was reported around 3:30 p.m. on Catlett Road near Bealeton, where deputies say Dawson struck two juveniles — who had been reported missing a day earlier from Charlottesville and Harrisonburg — and kept going. Both teens were flown to Fairfax Hospital with injurie…

by Zak Failla

05/20/2025

Police & Fire

Olney Teen Charged As Adult After Fatal 86 MPH Crash; Turns Himself In: Police A Maryland teen has been charged as an adult in connection to a high-speed crash that killed a Bethesda man earlier this year, Montgomery County Police announced Tuesday, May 20. Caleb Jacob Alie, a 17-year-old from Olney, turned himself in to authorities that morning for his role in the deadly wreck that happened back on Feb. 19 in the 2600 block of Olney-Sandy Spring Road (MD-108), officials said. Investigators say Alie was behind the wheel of a green Jeep Wrangler, speeding at 86 mph in a 40-mph zone, weaving through traffic, and illegally using right-turn-only lanes to blow past stopped…

by Zak Failla

05/20/2025

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