bet on horse races but dementia forced him to move closer to family. >> we trusted them with our father and we hoped they would keep him case and provide good care. it's obvious it didn't happen. >> phipps' family calling for a civil and a criminal investigation into not only the outdoor picnic but the way police led their search. >> those who were responsible for mr. phipps in taking care of him failed in their duty. and in the accounting and a reckoning will and must happen. >> about ten minutes ago, i spoke with the state attorney's office in prince george's county. i told me it had not opened an investigation yet. for the assisted living center, it's not talking tonight. live in upper marlboro, kevin lewis, abc7 news. >> getting back to breaking news right now from "abc7 news at 4:00" -- a police officer and a

pedestrian are at the hospital after the officer's cruiser hit the man in the crosswalk. it happened along connecticut avenue at l street. stephen tschida is there live with an update. >> still an active crash scene investigation going on at the intersection. you can see behind me. i spoke with lieutenant ron wilkins nine minutes ago and he gave me the latest information. the pedestrian struck described as an elderly man who is in serious condition. the officer taken to medstar with non-life threatening injuries. >> a witness' cell phone caught confusion, fear, shock in moments a police vehicle struck a man in the crosswalk. >> he was going 90. excel rating. >> witness say the police cruiser was moving extremely fast the investigators still are not confirming the officer was responding to a call or whether the siren and the lights were on.

>> it looked like the police were trying to avoid hitting him. that is why they ran up on side. where he did get struck. stephen: inside nearby shots workers heard the sound of the collision and they raced outside. they found the man on the pavement. >> he hit the guy. the guy fell on the back of his head. >> throughout the afternoon the main artery through the heart of d.c. remain closed and those who witnessed the collision wondered about the pan who had been hit. he said he believes the passenger was struck by the side of the vehicle and did not inflict as serious of an injury as could have resulted from this. connecticut avenue is still closed down southbound. good stretch of l street closed down. we understand a crane should be here within an hour. or in at least an hour.

then get the vehicle out of here. leon: what a scene. thank you. a startling statistic out of virginia tonight. more people in the commonwealth are dying after overdosing on heroin than in car accidents. northern virginia bureau chief jeff goldberg in the newsroom tonight with a closer look at the numbers. what a wake ul call. jeff: this -- wake-up call. jeff: this is a trend we have seen. decrease in fatalities on virginia highways, a positive trend. but what is troubling is the increase from the death of drug overdose fueled in large part by a heroin and prescription drug problem only getting worse. there is simply no other way to put it. heroin use in virginia has become an epidemic. >> 25 years. i have never seen something this dramatic. jeff: jane is a clinical director at phoenix house,

drug treatment facility in arlington and she is not surprised that fatal drug overdoses in virginia exceed deaths from highway crashes. according to the office of the attorney general in 2014, 728 people died because of overdoses compared with 700 died on the virginia highways. >> it does not seem to be getting better. it seems to be getting worse. that is the terrifying part. >> according to the experts the surges in the opioid prescription drug use started in 2008-2009. it drove users to heroin that is strong or mixed with other deadly drugs. >> i was getting more depressed and more anxious than i was before. >> that is how cat felt as the heroin addiction took hold of her life two years ago. a 19-year-old from springfield is 35 days clean and intends to stay clean. >> it's not going to help anything. you think it helps at the

time. but it's so much worse. >> virginia attorney general made this a priority focusing on the tougher penalties on drug dealers and greater outreach for those struggling with addiction but the problem still persists. coming up at 6:00, we'll hear more on why she continued to use heroin and what life is like now that she is clean. until then live in the newsroom, abc7 jeff goldberg, a7 news. alison: thank you. tomorrow is the deadline to register to vote in virginia. this year general election is november 3. several local seats are up for grabs. you can register online or in person until 5:00 tomorrow. next year is the big one when we go to the polls to elect a new president. tomorrow the democratic candidates will meet for the first debate. hillary clinton, bernie sanders, lincoln chaffey,

marty o'malley. they have another podium in case joe biden chooses to join the race at the 11th hour. we have a live report on the debate beginning tomorrow at "abc7 news at 4:00". all right. well, the three-day weekend was a thing of beauty when it cames to the weather. leon: have you had a better weekend than last week? >> no. it was perfect. it continues today. we could be in for changes tomorrow morning. leon: let's get the latest on that. brianne carter in the weather center tonight. i -- brian van de graaff is in the weather center. i hope you don't have bad news. brian: we started off with fog and cold numbers. live in the belfort furniture weather center on a glorious afternoon. we got down to 39 this morning.

look at the color at sky valley live. we are seeing beautiful color out there. when you wake up, the clouds are increasing. by tomorrow you could see showers, too. you want the umbrella handy. i will have the latest future cast. leon: thanks. iranian state run television is reporting that a secret court convicted "washington post" reporter jason rezaian of espionage. the terms of the sentence has not been released but they are calling it an outrageous injustice. >> he is finding out there is a conviction on tv. but he still doesn't know what he has. leon: they are denying he works as a spy there.

alison: new information tonight on the car that ran into an apartment building in capitol heights a week avenue yag. tonight the police say the driver was murdered. diane cho explains. police are reporting that she was suffering from a gunshot wound when she came barreling in the apartment building a week ago. witness said she hit the fence first and was in the parking lot before the gunshot rang out before the car ended up inside an apartment forcing a dozen people out of their homes in the 1900 block of rochelle avenue. >> the fact that she was shot. diane: this woman didn't want to be identified and said she ran to the scene to help her but they weren't able to get to her. she was later pronounced dead at an area hospital.

they treated this as a death investigation but now the medical examiner says she was murdered. the details on what unfolded in the moments before she died are unclear as they try to piece together what happened. >> if you have information you are asked to call the police department. diane cho, abc7 news. leon: coming up on "abc7 news at 5:00" -- decision day. find out what the prosecutors in similar -- zimbabwe plan to do. alison: what seems like a simple child toy was anything but child play. the story behind the bear still ahead.

leon: and this is insane. tractor-trailer decimated by water spout. >> the controversy flag that has everybody talking.

erin: there was the slide. and chase utley decided to appeal and have the issue resolved before game three tonight in new york. but the utley representative and the player association asked for time to prepare the case which makes him eligible to play until a hearing takes place. he could play. but it could get ugly. leon: he never tries to touch the bag. he never went for the bag. he went for the leg. you are right. he said if his leg wasn't broken we wouldn't talk about it. but we'd say hey, you should have broken his leg. >> but you could say that out

it was out there trying to help the team win by trying to break up that double play. he could have been injured as well. a jerk move by a met when it should have been a nat on that. erin: got it. alison: whoo. look at this. the truck, this is amazing. overtaken as the water spout approached the skyway bridge. the postal leader was driving it at the time and he only suffered bumps and bruises. >> i started to feel a gust of wind. i thought oh, no. is this what i think it is? i have never been to hell. but i thought it was hell.

>> the first thing he did when he got home is hug his son. it damaged a small boat and several signs. talk about a lucky man. leon: is that the luckiest or the unluckiest man in the world. water spout. brianne: it was nice at the beach at the wedding. i will say that. congrats to our buddy al. outside this morning we had fog in some spots. show you the weather bug camera from this morning in great falls. nothing but blue skies since then. we are seeing transition already. let's talk about the numbers out there on monday afternoon.

we are looking at 73 degrees in winchester. cooler spot we saw earlier this morning. some places in the 40's early on. culpeper at 74. keep in mind the average temperature is 70 degrees. the numbers are pleasant for october afternoon for sure. this is chris call clear here and we have good sunshine. although the sunshine we have out there is dwindling. the sun is setting earlier and earlier. we have a cold front from the upper midwest. as it swings through, it will change. the sunshine now will change by tomorrow morning. i don't see a sun of moisture with this. there could be added clouds. it's good thing. it will be milder tonight.

there could be showers behind it. so by tomorrow afternoon's commute there could be showers or two. we will notice cooler air that will start to spill in behind it. so by the time we get to wednesday and another push thursday and friday, we are looking at the cooler weather for later in the week. by the weekend we definitely have an autumn feel. not as bitter as this morning. as far as the timing and the future cast, locally we see sprinklals. have the umbrella handy and prepare for extra minutes in the commute. through the day, clouds here and there. isolated sprinkle by the afternoon. a few more shower chances could pop up. some people will stay dry. look at the forecast overnight. partly cloudy. not as cold as it was early this morning. it's a nice change there. the winds are out of the

southwest at five. so combination of that and the cloud cover will make things feel better. a system on friday could bring rain is slight. leon: did you get alex the shoe as the wedding gift? alison: you're going for a run

later. leon: they tuned this hour. alison: exciting. alison: find out what could be next after the latex spill in potomac. a new way to pay. how feeding the meter will be different in the district. >> these children and young adults got a chance to skate with the nhl best hockey players. i'm suzanne kennedy. coming upping on "abc7 news at 5:00" -- i'll tell you who it was and why they got to skate with him. alison: but first a look at what is coming up tonight at abc. look at brian's shoes. leon: also coming up.

leon: a panel of doctors will be coming to the studio tomorrow. we will have a phone bank tomorrow at 6:30. call until 8:30 a.m. tomorrow. alison: capitals took to the ice today to find out why. >> alex liggitt is taking --

alex over ove is taking time to help others. ovechkin spent time on the ice with developmentally disabled children and adults from the washington area. i help them. they help me. ovechkin's relationship with the special hockey association started last year with a skating session. this is the second one he has held. >> for us having fun and skate with him. he is a nice, generous man. >> 11-year-old ann shaw became friends at last year's event. she could hardly wait to see him again. >> a therapy school for the kids and the adults.

this event will give them extra shot of confidence. they are able to see people. for them, it's big. >> how about that? >> isn't that wonderful. >> athlete of the year. >> warms your heart. it doesn't cost him time. all right. still to come on "abc7 news at 5:00" -- taking a leap. how a 92-year-old is showing you are only as old as you feel. >> this is linked to an extraordinary story of surviving the hol -- holocaust. that's ahead. >> a beautiful afternoon on the eastern shore turns

deadly. i'm brad bell. coming up, how a teenager may discover the world animals, seen those before but sometimes they do it on their own mmm foot wow food for giants oooo no wonder no one has eaten this sandwich kids discover the world with their mouths detergent is harmful if swallowed, so keep laundry pacs up and away from children brought to you by tide

announcer: you're watching "abc7 news at 5:00". on your side. alison: a man takes three teenagers hunting and tonight police are trying to figure out which of those customers accidentally killed that guide. this was out on the eastern shore. maryland bureau chief brad bell is in queen anne county with the details. such a sad story, brad.

brad: this should have been a perfect day. setting much like this. weather exactly like this. police are investigating trying to figure out what happened. a 750-year-old hunting guide is dead and it is believed that a 14-year-old boy pulled the trigger. >> the saturday afternoon, a man and three teens led by a 75-year-old local hunting guide legend. moving across the field. they should have been following safety practice. >> each hunter knows where they can swing the gun and the direction they should fire. >> police lieutenant says something went wrong. >> the hunting guy. attempting to flush a bird. the hunting guide was shot. >> marvin was killed on the

spot. >> two of the teens including a 14-year-old fired. police aren't sure who hit him. his employers at traders sout door said everybody at the shooting and the hunting business which is open today is devastated. their trayiers are with the family -- prayers are with the family and the teenagers and his family. >> he is a charter fishing captain and a hunting guide. accidents sadly can happen. >> you will be in front of the people sometimes. sometimes it lines up that aren't supposed to. >> the police will do a reconstruction of revents and they will be interviewing the witnesses. they are waiting to determine what happened in the field but

they believe that this was an accident. queen anne county on the eastern shore, brad bell, abc7 news. leon: thank you. new information now, zimbabwe say that palmer can return as a tourist because they say he did not break hunting laws. they said he had all the papers necessary for proper hunt. alison: checking the other top stories. >> how did this happen? alison: the family of lubin phipps is demanding a criminal investigation in the disappearance and death. he disappeared last month in a picnic with the residents of the whit moore house assisted living facility. he suffered from dementia.

leon: a d.c. police officer and a pedestrian are in the hospital after the officer hit the pedestrian. witnesses say that the officer was driving fast but it's unclear if he was responding to the call or the lights and the sirens were on at the sime. alison: for the first time, overdose deaths from heroin and the other opioids are outpacing traffic facilities. there were 728 overdose deaths in the state last year compared to 700 fatal traffic accidents. the opennoid related deaths are up 60% statewide in five years. leon: new tonight, inspector with the department of the environment is recommending investigation after paper mill spill. they were responsible for the latex leaking in the potomac river last month and it concluded they violated

environmental regulations and could be fined $10,000. members of virginia task force one are back home after arriving in chantilly an hour ago. the elite search and rescue team spent a week in south carolina after the historic flooding that hit the state. alison: "7 on your side" with a consumer alert as the gas prices are inching up for the first time in months. but for the first time since 2009 the drivers in every state pay less than $3 a gallon for regular unleaded. you can find the best gas prices in your area at our website wjla.com. this will let you pay to park rather than going to the

kiosks and then back to your parking. they start it next week between e and h and third and 11. leon: professional networking network linkedin offering unlimited vacation days for the employees. the policy goes in effect next month. instead of a set number vacation days the managers work with the employees to plan their time off. that is in addition to 17 paid holidays. linkedin wants to focus on performance not the number of the hours worked. alison: all right. 92-year-old man in florida making headlines after becoming one of the oldest people to skydive. jack stephen completed his jump saturday morning. sky dive city in sever hills. on the ground a crowd of people gathered to watch including the buddies from the american legion. post 186.

the world war ii veteran said he was just looking for adventure. >> never done it before. let's try it. try it more often. alison: doesn't he look great? leon: i would have never guess he was 92. alison: he loks forward to jumping again, maybe when he is 95. he said it made him feel young. he is doing a good job at staying young. leon: way to go. alison: coming up here at "abc7 news at 5:00" -- working out the kings. the latest as southwest tries to get back online from the weekend meltdown. >> the u.s. marshals searching for the two men. he is accused of breaking into a woman's apartment and accused of stabbing a victim in the eye. the wall of

brian: a quick peek at the weekend. fall-like weather. it has an autumn type of feel. 62 by sunday. i will be dry. by the weekend you will get a feel for a chill. longer term to next week we will get a little rebound. bottom line is we are getting into that autumn-like weather here in washington. more coming up after this.

alison: breaking news now of herndon, virginia, after a man died after setting himself on fire at the sunoco gas station. the man bought 56 cents of gas. set himself obfire. they tried to put it out with water. but he died. jennifer: i'm jennifer donelan. this is the "7 on your side" wall of justice. first up, he has been on the

wall for weeks but the police tell us conworth wanted for robbery is in custody. the fifth wall of justice fugitive the police put behind bars. next we have seen the u.s. marshal task force in action on the local streets. tonight they are asking for your help in two cases. ro bingeson is wanted in d.c. for breaking in woman's home, beatk her up and stealing from her. they are searching for rodriguez for kidnapping and simple assault. pamela on grand larceny charges. the police need your help to local rodriguez who is accused

of holding a young girl against her will trying to rape her. it happened july 25. police say rodriguez knew the girl he attacked but she was able to fight him off. >> police say rodriguez is 5'5", weighs 200 pounds and 23 years old. they want him off the wall of justice to put him behind bars. if you have any information call the police. i'm jennifer donelan, see you next week with a "7 on your side" wall of justice. alison: still to come. honoring a local legend. how ally is being treated as a hometown hero. leon: but first -- >> the tiny bears link -- gosh, what the heck am i going

to say, john? leon: why t

leon: in a ceremony, they honored the dead. the uss cole was prepared to return to service in 2003. the attack changed the way the navy protects ships while overseas in port around the globe now. an arlington family is sharing the holocaust survival story with the world by giving away one of the most precious treasures. alison: kimberly suiters reports on the difficult decision to part with the hidden treasure. kimberly: this is the family seen in austria before escaping the holocaust in 1940. with one teddy bear.

>> it's not just a representative of his childhood and the path he left behind but of the promise of the future. kimberly: her great grandmother unstitch lz the back of the bear's neck and hit the treasures within. this ring was among them. the necklace she wears today may have also been inside. >> he tells story of the other people trying to take the bear from him and him screaming on the train, on the way. carrying on that that was his bear. they called him name but he kept it. kimberly: the family kept all the documents dating back to the 1800's, the history moving from australia, meeting the country's president, playing on the playground where her grandfather was told he couldn't. after arranging for him to be reinstated as an austrian citizen. >> nobody can take away who you are or tell you that you

weren't a citizen of this country. based on your religion. >> then she gave her father the bear. they made the difficult decision to donate it to the u.s. holocaust memorial museum. >> while i know it's important for the greater good and everything, it feels like part of you is kind of not with you. kimberly: little john will be the first of four generations to not have the bear. but now the world will know their story. in arlington, kimberly suiters, abc7 news. alison: the bear is in the holocaust museum permanent collection now. anyone can ask the staff there to see it. leon: that is wonderful. it's very brave of them as a family to share that with the world. alison: and to give this up. a treasure for their family. leon: that's awesome. let's look ahead to see what is coming up at 6:00. the new health problem at john hopkins researchers tied to fracking.

plus a hero's welcome. arriving in fairfax county after saving lives in south carolina. what they saw down there. the effect that joe biden is having on the democratic debate even though he has said he is a presidential candidate himself. that is coming up tonight at 6:00. alison: but first, let's check the erwith one more time. we want to hold on to what we have had. leon: can we? please! brian: it's been great. the low to mid-70's across the area. we'll start to see a transition. i want to show you the bigger picture. there are showers along the coast. we have showers north and west. they are headed our way heading through tomorrow morning and the midday. some of them are isolated at times.

looking to be spotty showers and here and there. the 70's today and tomorrow will last through the middle of the week. there are scattered clouds throughout the morning. keep your umbrella handy. a shower or two could push through. the mid-70's. by the time we get to the weekend, the upper 50's at best. 40's downtown. make sure you get the blankets and the switters out. leon: here we go. here we go.

erin: the redskins are missing both players on both sides of the ball. and they amerge with no pro bowl left tackle. the big topic today has been the cousins interception in overtime returned for a touchdown. dropping redskins to a 2-3 record. to point the finger at the quarterback. i don't think that cousins deserves all the blame for the loss on sunday and neither does jay gruden who continues to support the quarterback. coach gruden: you have plays in a game that are not perfect. but keeping your team in game, making good decisions and a chance to win at the end. >> i feel like if you go back, you know, through the story,

that is my life. bouncing back, fighting adversity and being tough, physically, emotionally, mentally tough. i have been able to do that. >> oh! >> how about just stringing together wins? right? no more bouncing back. today nearly 200 fans showed up to support ally for a new complex to be built in her name. she a hometown hero and she was a member of the u.s. women national soccer team that won the world cup this year in canada. >> i am so happy. i want to come back and see it nice and neat and green. to be inspired like i was at

their age. >> why do you like her? >> she is a good soccer player. i'm number 11, too. she is my favorite soccer player on the women's soccer usa team. leon: what an honor for her. alison: computer problem that made air travel tedious. leon: after the break we take you to s

alison: we are back with a reminder if you see news happening send it to wjla.com. send them to pics@wjla.com. we will share them online and on the air. leon: if your a caribbean vacation the beaches are

experiencing an alarming seaweed invasion. they are white shore covered in brown algae that has a stinky smell. the local governments are searching for a solution to this ugliness. alison: maybe you can't buy a ferrari but maybe piece of the company. they hope to raise $1 billion from investors in the next few months. the date of the i.p.o. has not been determined but they have the ticker symbol ready. race. pretty apropos. the take-off is terrifying for passengers this weekend. engine caught fire on the tarmac. the emergency slide were deployed. it was headed to vegas to

california. more long lines after a weekend of problems for southwest airlines. it's an airline hub and we went to see how the airline is rebounding. reporter: hundreds of flights were left delayed. looking at the departure and the arrival, both showing a handful of flights still delayed. we talked to someone who described it using a word we can't air. roughly 25% of the flights were delayed. due to a passenger processing outage. everyone has to be checked in manually. the passengers were told to arrive early and preprint boarding passes. but late monday morning the airline caught up. >> yesterday on the news i heard there was a glitch with

southwest. they were still having problems today. i wondered getting to the airport if we'd have problems. there wasn't any issues. leon: a panel of doctors coming to the studios tomorrow to answer questions about breast cancer. the lines open tomorrow. alison: that will do it for "abc7 news at 5:00". but right now at 6:00 -- epidemic sweeping virginia. what is now surpassing car

crashes as the biggest killer in the commonwealth. breaking news from the district tonight. what witnesses say an cruiser was doing moments before it hit a pedestrian. a hero's welcome for those who put their lives on the line to save strangers. what they saw when they went to south carolina. "abc7 news at 6:00" starts now. announcer: now, "abc7 news at 6:00". on your side. maureen: a startling revelation about drug overdoses in virginia. more people are dying of drug overdoses in the commonwealth than car accidents. jeff goldberg has an insider look at the problem. jeff: maureen, ask anyone who works in the field on a daily basis and sadly this news is to be expected. the problem of heroin and the description drug addiction is

an epidemic and it's ruining lives. jeff: she said two years ago the drugs took over her life. she started with prescription drugs but when they were hard to find she turned to heroin. losing touch with family and friends, going break. >> you end up in jails, institution or death. >> the new numbers journaled score the deadly -- underscore the deadly toll. in 2014, 728 people died because of drug overdoses. many were due to overdose of