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Police: 12-year-old boy jumps from overpass in suicide attempt, kills driver below

Posted at 9:25 AM, Oct 30, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-30 11:40:24-04

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — Police say a 12-year-old boy jumped from an overpass above Interstate 66 in northern Virginia in a suicide attempt and fell onto a car, killing the driver.

The incident took place Saturday afternoon in Fairfax County. Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said in a statement Sunday afternoon that the boy landed on a Ford Escape and the impact incapacitated the vehicle's driver.

The statement says the front-seat passenger steered the vehicle off the interstate and the car came to a stop on the left shoulder.

Geller says the driver of the Ford, 22-year-old Marisa W. Harris of Olney, Maryland, died at the scene. The front-seat passenger wasn't hurt.

WUSA reports that Harris was a graduate student at Marymount University who wanted to help kids combating depression.

The boy was taken to a local hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries.