Arlington Police Cite Washington Man After December I-66 Dispute Led To Two Serious Injuries

Arrest follows December crash in Bluemont area

Arlington County police have cited and arrested a 24-year-old Washington, D.C., man in connection with a December hit-and-run crash that seriously injured two adult men in the Bluemont area of Arlington, Virginia. Police identified the suspect as Zai Atwater of Washington, D.C., and said he is being held without bond at the Arlington County Detention Facility.

The case centers on an incident that police say began as a dispute between two drivers traveling eastbound on Interstate 66. Investigators allege the conflict continued off the highway and culminated in a vehicle striking a driver who had exited his car, followed by a second collision involving an uninvolved pedestrian in a crosswalk.

Timeline and location outlined in police account

Police said officers were dispatched at approximately 7:17 p.m. on December 18, 2025, to the 1100 block of North Glebe Road for a report of a vehicle crash with injuries. The investigation determined that after the I-66 dispute, the suspect followed the other driver as he exited the highway.

In the area of North Glebe Road and North Wakefield Street, police said the victim parked, exited his vehicle, and began walking when the suspect allegedly accelerated and struck him with the vehicle. Police said that as the driver fled the initial crash scene, the vehicle then struck a second person—described as an uninvolved pedestrian—while that person was crossing North Wakefield Street in a marked crosswalk.

Injuries and charges

Both victims were transported to an area hospital with injuries described by police as serious but not life-threatening, and both were later released.

Atwater is charged with:

• Malicious wounding
• Hit and run (two counts)
• Assault and battery
• Reckless driving
• Driving while suspended

Vehicle recovery and extradition

Police said the suspect vehicle was located and recovered in Washington, D.C., on the evening of the crash. Investigators reported developing evidence during a broader criminal investigation that they said confirmed Atwater was the driver at the time of the incident. Arrest warrants were obtained, and police said Atwater was taken into custody in Washington, D.C., then extradited to Virginia.

The investigation remains active, and police have asked anyone with information related to the incident to contact Arlington County’s tip line or submit an anonymous report through Crime Solvers.

What is known—and what remains unresolved

Police have not released the identities of the victims or detailed the nature of the I-66 dispute beyond describing it as a conflict between drivers. Authorities also have not publicly outlined the specific evidence cited to establish the suspect’s role, beyond stating that investigators obtained evidence connecting the suspect to the crash.