Driver Speeds Off After Hitting Sign, Mailbox, Snowbank; Then Hits Second Sign

After finding a car partially in a snowbank, and the driver apparently injured, a deputy was surprised when the driver sped off early Thursday morning.

Steven S. Griffen, 43, of Alexandria, was charged with DWI (second conviction within 10 years), Eluding and Hit and Run.

Before 5 a.m. Thursday, the deputy was responding to a complaint that a vehicle had hit a sign and a mailbox and fled the scene in the Easterbrook Circle/Trinity Square area.

The deputy found the car and had exited his patrol vehicle to check on the driver, when the car was placed in gear. The deputy reportedly told the driver to stop, and that's when the car allegedly sped off down Trinity Square.

The car allegedly struck a second sign near the intersection of Palisades Parkway and the Cascades Shopping Center Plaza.

The car and Griffen were found in the area of Cascades Shopping Plaza. He was taken to an area hospital for treatment for his injuries, according to a Sheriff's Office release.

This information is provided by the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office. Where an arrest is mentioned, it does not indicate a conviction. More information is available at Loudoun County Sheriff's Office website.