derrick ward is along 395 in arlington. good evening, derrick. >> good evening, craig. there's drivers probably already that shouldn't be out here. this 4th of july weekend, police from about half a dozen northern virginia jurisdictions are cracking down. before the sun had risen on this 4th of july weekend our area had already experienced a crash with fatalities. three people died when they can lost control on mississippi avenue southeast and they say speed and spirits may have factored into this crash. >> there is evidence of alcohol but we can't say for sure if that's part of it. >> the pain to the victim's family, unimaginable. >> there was a knock on the door stating they wanted to speak to the parents of the kid. and said that they had passed in a car accident. >> reporter: as the saturday sun set, police from several northern virginia jurisdictions were mobilizing for their weekend crackdown on drunk and impaired driving. they're calling it extra eyes for dwis. >> we're sending a message we won't tolerate dwi. >> 32 officers, that's 64 eyes. and some will be in c

derrick ward is there more with this recent fwhauft happened apparently a few blocks from the school, derrick. >> reporter: indeed it did, jim. in false plaza in falls church, and they're cleosed now but the did open up for business. because authorities are just now releasing information on this raid, that happened back on the 28th of june. >> one of the first have a church warrant and has collected a number of items off of the streets. >> the item, packets of k2, spice, mojo, red dragon or zohi, all names for a substance that's only been around since 1995. authorities seized more than a thousand packets at the arabica tobacco in false churches last week. because of a synthetic compound that mimics the active ingredient in cannabis but it can also and has caused unconsciously and seizures. >> it's actually very dangerous and it's a synthetic compound that people are putting into their bodies and honestly, medically they don't know how to treat it once there's an overzmees until recently it was legally available over the counter because authorities didn't know how to treat it, but as o

but as derrick ward explains, others, oh, they are not real happy about this. >> long-time ivy city residents remember a different era here along west virginia avenue. >> all these places here were occupied by businesses, legal businesses. not shops like this. you had clothing stores along here, schools. >> reporter: now another kind of business. >> on sundays all the way to church, i come down montreal avenue, and the first thing you see is a person waving at cars. this is sunday morning. >> residents say back in 2007 there was hope. there was an effort to open up a new dancing establishment, and it was turned back. and a vocational school opened up a new beginning. these residents thought the becoming of new beginnings meant a new beginning for the whole neighborhood. little did they know events across town would have bearing on what happened here. it all started with the building of the new nats stadium. >> no other strip club has relocated from where the ballpark used to be to any other ward. they're all being forced into ward 5. and, you know, we don't want that to happen. >> reporter: a

news 4's derrick ward reports. >> reporter: the stage became a shelter from the storm. just before, the stage had been strucking, and members of the u.s. army ceremonial band were wrapping up their run through when the storm blew through. >> suddenly the wind came in and the rain, and it was very dark and chaotic for a while. >> reporter: it sent spectators scurrying. >> people were running, and it just came by and swooped right through this area. >> going to the garage. >> it started raining really bad, and i thought to myself, i'm hiding behind this little capitol stand thing, and this really nice lady was like come sit in my car. so we sat in there and waited it out. >> reporter: the capitol police had begun evacuating attendees ahead of the dark clouds in the northern sky. >> you can stay if you want, but i wouldn't suggest it. >> reporter: some were sent to the legislative garage to weather the storm, and not a moment too soon when they had streamed out just moments before, this massive tree branch came crashing down. and then the cleanup began. all in a day's work

derrick ward, news 4 today. >>> a man is dead after being hit by a car in prince george's county. the victim was hit just before midnight in the 8500 block of central off, landover area. they say the victim is an adult male and the driver who hit him did remain on the scene. the driver has not been charged with anything at this point. >>> this morning firefighters are trying to figure out what sparked a tragic fire on shore drive in edgewater area. firefighters say heavy smoke and flames were coming from the home when they got there. neighbors told them an elderly woman was trapped inside with her daughter. and both were disableded. firefighters were able to save the mother but could not get to the other woman before she died. a next door neighbor said her first instinct was to run inside but it was just too hot. >> you get so close to the door and it's so hot. you just can't do anything. just fear. fear just engulfs you because you know there are people in there and you can't do anything. it's helplessness, absolutely helplessness. >> the woman who was rescued was taken to a burn

news 4's derrick ward has more on this safety crackdown. >> reporter: before the sun hit h list own this fourth of july weekend our area had already experienced a crash with fatalities. three people died when this car lost control on mississippi avenue in southeast. speed and spirits may have factored into this crash. >> there is evidence of alcohol but we can't say for sure if that played a factor. >> there was a knock on the door in the morning stating that they wanted the parents, wanted to speak to the parents of the kids and said they had passed in a car accident. >> reporter: as the saturday is sunset, police from several jurisdictions are calling extra eyes for dwis. >> we're out here to keep the highways safe and to send the message we're not going to tolerate dwis. >> 32 officers. that means 64 eyes. some will be in cars easily recognized. others you may not notice until you cross the line. what they won't be doing is sitting at checkpoints. >> officers can be selective. obviously you can auto for driving behavior. with checkpoints, there's mandates and processes you have to adh

derrick ward, news4. >>> $50 million bucks! >> and that's a regular person? >> they do have a special on the weekends, two for one, $25 million a person. >> start saving up now. >> my goodness. >> but it's going to be nice enough where you're just going to want to stay here this weekend. >> yeah, this weekend looking nice. we had a heck of a day with a lot of rain, a lot of flooding, a lot of severe weather and now the rain is just about out of here. down towards southern maryland where light rain is falling, made its way to the eastern shore. if you have friends moving toward the eastern shore, the beaches, they're probably going through that right now, along 50. as far as our temperatures go, the next couple of days, look at this, a great weekend. 89 tomorrow, 92 on subtds sunday, a little humid. the real humidity starts sunday. >> thanks, doug. >>> in montreal, there are three kids and a couple dogs. the dog named polox ran away a year ago. nice-looking dog. somebody left the gate open. the family had just about gotten over their loss when they got a call

derrick ward just talked to police. i understand police say there's evidence that alcohol might have been a factor, huh? >> reporter: indeed, preliminarily there is evidence to that. but this is still under investigation. i want to give you a sense of the vast distance involved. this crash actually started back there at the intersection, almost a block away at a speed bump. it hit one speed bump and then another and left the road. it ended up in a stand of trees. very tragic and deadly start to the weekend here in southeast with the loss of three lives. it was just after 3:00 a.m., police say that the mitsubishi was traveling west on mississippi avenue. investigators say speed was a factor. >> there is evidence of alcohol. but we can't say for sure if that played a factor in the crash. >> reporter: the car hit a speed bump and the driver lost control. it continued over a second speed bump and began flipping and ended up off the roadway in a park where it smashed into several trees before coming to a rest. a woman who kn

derrick ward is here to tell us where they are. eporter: you know, some of the people we spoke to gathered at the air and space museum to watch the shuttle make its last liftoff and for some it was a sentimental journey, even for those who must stay earthbound. >> 3, 2, 1! liftoff! >> reporter: on a giant screen at the air and space museum, history unfolded for those who couldn't be at the last launch, and at goddard in green belt, they gathered to watch this sentimental journey, as well. >> it's sad to see, but at the same time exciting we have been so successful. >> reporter: for some, it may look like a field trip, but there are learns to be learned. >> this is when an astronaut goes into the space. >> i really want to emphasize science and mathematics. >> reporter: mercury and gemini and apollo introduced us to space, but the shuttle program got us more comfortable with it. the nation mourned the losses of two crews and heralded triumphs. and young minds began to aspire to space. >> because more people who looked like more of us

news4's derrick ward is live for us in southeast d.c. to show us one of the best viewing spots in the whole city. derrick? >> reporter: indeed we are. take a look here. we are in the parking lot of our lady of perpetual help catholic church off morris road, and, of course, this is indeed one of the best viewing spots in town. now, you remember the battle hymn of the republic, the line, the watch fires of the hundred circling camps? this was one of those camps, gun placements overlooking the city, guarding it from invasion. later on this evening, as nightfall, eyes will be turned towards the city. but not to fire anything, but to watch the fireworks. you can actually see the tip of the washington monument here, more than the tip, you can even see alexandria. so if there are fireworks going on, you'll be able to take them in, as well as anything happening on the horizon. people have been coming here for years, for some an old tradition and for some, starting a tradition. >> i remember coming up, sitting on top of the car, standing up, and c

derrick ward is live in southeast d.c. for more on the day's festivities. where are you? >> reporter: we are on morris road in southeast. we're in a parking lot of our lady of perpetual help catholic church. as you can see, this is a breath taking vista. the union army realized how important this was, and washingtonians, they appreciate this, as well. and this has become just one of the places where people in this area like to come to celebrate this nation's independence. ♪ >>> well before the fireworks, there is the parade, and people come from far and near to see it. >> other than being a little hot, it's great. i love it. >> we came here only for this parade. so that's it. it's incredible being in this beautiful country. >> reporter: the mall isn't the only place where d.c. residents like to come for the 4th. here in potomac park, they stake out their spots early. >> actually, i was supposed to be the watcher, and everyone went to the store, and left me here to cook and grill. so i said, well, you know, i might as well just get it started. >> the kids. family, friends,