By Ava-Grace Satterfield, Staff Writer At the South Lakes Drive intersection across from the high school, vehicles continue to pass as student pedestrians attempt to cross. Photo courtesy of Melanie Meren A car struck a South Lakes High School student crossing South Lakes Drive on the morning of Sept. 1, causing minor injuries. The accident occurred near an intersection where a school crossing guard had formerly directed traffic. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors eliminated funding for 10 high school crossing guards during the spring budget process, with the changes taking effect at the beginning of the 2026-27 school year. The county began discussing the guards’ removal in 2024. At South Lakes, crossing guards helped protect students, buses and drivers at the intersection of South Lakes Drive, Tanbark Road and Seahawks Drive. Without them, the congested intersection has become a “nightmare” for student pedestrians, according to Reston Association Board President Travis Johnson. South Lakes student Vivian Smozynski witnessed the dangers during her first week of school. “With the main road not having any stop signs, people turning all ways, and a crosswalk connecting the nearby neighborhood and public bus stop to the school, it’s a recipe for disaster,” she said. In response to the accident, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors temporarily restored crossing guards at all 10 high schools while safety assessments continue. On Sept. 15, the board will vote on how to spend its remaining funds from the previous fiscal year. One option is to permanently restore funding for the guards. According to county evaluations, the board would need to allocate $900,000 to do so. Hunter Mill District Representative Melanie Meren, an advocate for student safety, encourages FCPS students and community members to attend the Sept. 15 public budget hearing and urge the county to provide permanent funding for high school crossing guards.

By Reston Letter staff Lake Anne Elementary students Aletta (left) and Eleanor (right) greet each other on the first day of school as parents walk their children to school. Photo by Isadora Guerreiro On Monday, Aug.24, most Reston schools began fall classes. Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) parents should note changes this year, many related to technology. On the state level, all high school students are now required to put cell phones away in backpacks or lockers for the entire school day. Last year they were allowed in the cafeteria during lunch. This year, they are to be put away from the morning bell until the dismissal bell. Middle school rules are the same: “Away for the day.” On the district level, prekindergarten and kindergarten students will no longer use FCPS-issued laptops or tablets except when needed for testing, documented accommodations, translation, or multilingual education support. Since the COVID-19 shutdown, these young students have had access to these devices. In addition to cell phones, this year FCPS will not allow personal laptops or tablets in schools during the instructional day. Over the past few years, students have been able to bring their personal devices in place of the school-issues computers. Now they must use the FCPS-issued devices only. LAES crossing guard, Anne Rodriguez, welcomes students back. Photo by Isadora Guerriro FCPS has an updated version of ParentVUE, the app for parents’ to keep track of students’ grades, sign forms, and access other information. This update is designed for heightened security. MealViewer is a new app that provides FCPS families with menus, food and allergy information and meal notifications. Another change is student bus IDs have been issued to all FCPS students who bus to and/or from school. Students will tap their IDs when boarding and exiting the bus to improve operations and provide families more information about bus trips. In athletics, FCPS varsity football games will have weapons screening and a standard bag policy across high schools. The rollout of middle school sports at FCPS continues this year with volleyball, building on the success of track and field and cross country. As of this year, all FCPS elementary school students will have access to Robotics, Algebra 1 and extracurricular music opportunities. Together, these changes are intended to address negative technology trends while harnessing technology for good. They are designed to give families more ways to participate in their students' education, keep spectators safe and provide students with access to a wider variety of opportunities through their schools.

By Roberta Gosling and Abbe Pascal, SLHS PTSA Food Pantry The South Lakes High School PTSA Food Pantry is inviting Restonians to its 9th Annual FUNdraiser, the “Do It Your Way 0.5K” on Sept. 27 from 2-4 pm at Lake Anne Plaza. Whether you're a serious walker, runner, jogger, skipper or just in it for the treats, this tongue-in-cheek event has something for everyone. Participants can look forward to a lively kickoff with warm-ups led by Citizen of the Year Kurt Rose, who will lead us in a little "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" and bring up our elected representatives to wiggle those hips as they knock out dance moves to tunes by DJ Randy Platts. The event will include several heats kicked off by celebrity starters including SLHS’s own Seymour Seahawk. Seymour will be joined by celebrity humans including SLHS Principal Seward, FCPS Superintendent Reid and other South Lakes Pyramid leaders as they show their support for the Pantry. The celebrities will award heat prizes for best costume and most spirited, so come ready to flaunt your style. At mid-walk (325 steps) participants will have the opportunity to refuel at the Treat and Tea station with free tea from Elden Street Tea and treats from the South Lakes Culinary program to put some extra pep in your step. But it’s not just about fun and treats. One hundred percent of proceeds from the “Do It Your Way 0.5K” go directly toward supporting more than 500 students and families in the South Lakes Pyramid each week with food, toiletries and other essentials. With community support, the SLHS PTSA Food Pantry has provide more than 3.3 million pounds of food and toiletries since 2017. Register online now or sign up at the event. Special pricing is available for students and families, and a limited number of VIP tickets are available for front-row seats and a few extra goodies. Every participant will receive a race bib and a choice of swag. Don’t miss out on the live raffle featuring an exclusive, custom-made piece of jewelry donated by Aspen Jewelry Designs, along with gift gift baskets and other items. It’s a chance to win big while giving back. So, lace up those sneakers (or flip-flops—we won’t judge), grab friends, and get ready to walk, run, or just enjoy the day your way. The Food Pantry is grateful for all the volunteers and community partners who have helped make a difference in the lives of families.

by Ellyn Wexler, staff writer Reston actress Julie Schreiner stars in a horror film set in West Virginia that premiered September 4. Images courtesy of Julie Schreiner Reston native June Schreiner, profiled in these pages last year for her starring role in “When I’m Ready,” is back on the screen in “Dark Hollow,” a horror movie set in a West Virginia coal-mining community. Released Sept. 4, “Dark Hollow” stars Schreiner as KC Scarbro, a young mother fiercely devoted to her family, community and the land around her. When a nightmarish creature emerges from a coal mine, KC must confront the threat. Schreiner got her start in acting with the Reston Community Players at age 10 and went on to perform with Synetic Theater, Arena Stage and other area theaters before pursuing film and television. She said she was drawn to “Dark Hollow” by writer-director Daniel Beyers’ script and his commitment to bringing humanity to the people and region where he grew up. “I was so inspired by the conviction of KC and the humanity that Daniel Beyers, our writer/director, wanted to bring to the people and the area he grew up in, West Virginia,” Schreiner said. Set in the early 2000s, the story explores the environmental and human toll of coal mining in Appalachia. Schreiner said she was particularly interested in a horror story that uses its frightening elements to explore a larger issue. “I think a horror movie that isn't blood and guts for the sake of blood and guts, but is horrifying to serve the metaphor it is exploring is really exciting,” she said. Filming took the cast and crew into West Virginia’s mountains and 11 miles into coal mines, with shoots often running from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. Schreiner called it a wild and challenging experience but said it was important to persevere. The project also carries deep personal significance for Schreiner. Her mother, actress Dana Andersen Schreiner, died in 2023 during production. After filming in West Virginia, June spent a week with her mother in Reston before heading back to New York to resume filming. “It is so weird for me to watch the movie and see myself before and after this incredible, life-changing shock,” Schreiner said. “Films are amazing like that—like little time capsules of your life.” Schreiner attended the Los Angeles premiere Sept. 4 at the Lumiere in Beverly Hills and participated in a post-screening Q&A. “Dark Hollow” is available on Apple TV and Amazon.

by Louise Seirmarco-Yale, Reston Artist Every season brings a new look to our environment. Some of it we like, and some we like less. Art can help us enjoy every moment, event and season. We can use art as therapy. Consider the worried child who has apprehensions about school and never shares those feelings. Many adults remember bad school memories. The remedy is reassurance. Art is reassuring to children and to the child that remains in us even now as adults. How? Art has the ability to take us to a place where we feel secure. Like all art, reassurance is unique and different for each of us. For some of us, reassurance is touching a precious bracelet left to us by someone special. Is it the jewelry? Or is it the remembrance of what touching that piece of jewelry evokes? Seeing that bit of art takes us to a special psychological place, where we are happy, safe and reassured about the goodness in life and our place in it. That's what art can do! Carrying or keeping a small physical object for reassurance is an ancient idea. Smooth stones with a natural or carved depression, rubbed with the thumb and known as "worry stones," appeared across many cultures. The repetitive rubbing itself can be calming, much like modern fidget objects. Amulets were associated with luck, courage, health or protection. An example is the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, who wore or carried small objects, such as Egyptian scarabs, which symbolized protection, renewal and life. A charm might be a coin, tiny figure, piece of jewelry, animal form or object associated with someone important. Art that reassures us always speaks to us, and has for centuries. Beads handled during prayer and contemplation were used in numerous religious traditions, such as rosaries in Christianity, mala beads in Hinduism and Buddhism, and misbaha or tasbih in Islam. The physical act of moving from bead to bead provides rhythm, touch and focus, much like performance art. Coins, medals, religious medallions, military tokens and keepsakes have often been carried in pockets and touched in moments of uncertainty. Their power does not come from magic, but from association. "This belonged to my mother," or "Someone gave this to me," or "This reminds me who I am." It is just comforting. Association becomes the magic in life, as in art. Art is the physical form of reassurance when we cannot actually be there ourselves. A parent putting a tiny stone in a lunchbox and saying, "If you miss me, hold this for a minute," is participating in a human practice that is thousands of years old. Consider giving a power object today to someone who needs reassurance. An object that, at first glance, is not called art, but actually is. Louise Seirmarco-Yale is a Reston artist, speaker, teacher and author of "Art. You Be The Judge. Reawaken Your Instincts and Enjoy Art On Your Own Terms," free download at www.peopleneedart.com/ or on Amazon, Facebook and Instagram at @louise_seirmarco_art.

Contributed by Reston Farmers Market Reston Farmers Market The Reston Farmers Market will sponsor Nourish Your Neighbor Day on Aug. 29 from 8 a.m. to noon at the market in the Lake Anne Plaza parking lot. Shoppers are encouraged to purchase extra fruits and vegetables during their visit and donate them to the Cornerstones Food Pantry. The donations will provide fresh, nutritious produce to families in the Reston and Herndon communities while also supporting the market's fruit and vegetable vendors, many of whom suffered significant crop losses during a late hard freeze in mid-April. Several vendors lost most or all their stone fruit crops, including peaches, plums, apricots, cherries and nectarines, as well as much of their apple harvest. To help offset those losses, affected vendors have been permitted to sell fruit from neighboring farms that escaped the freeze. Purchasing additional produce on Nourish Your Neighbor Day helps sustain local farmers until next year's harvest while providing area families with access to fresh, high-quality fruits and vegetables.

By Matt Reider, staff writer Seven South Lakes Seahucks and their coach participated in the 2026 Ultimate Youth Club Championships in early August. Photo left to right: Coach Eric Miner, Zane Mott, Roman Moreno-Hines, Matthew Hazlin, Jackson Snell, Colin Willer, Thomas Murphy, Stephen Reider, Coach Chris King. Photo by Matt Reider Since 2005, Ultimate Frisbee teams from around the country have traveled to compete in the Youth Club Championships (YCC). The championship emphasizes fun, athleticism and the “spirit of the game,” which places responsibility for fair play solely on the athletes rather than officials. This year, Virginia fielded two teams: the U20 Mixed Division Virginia Vanguard and the U20 Boys Division Virginia Vortex. The Mixed Division included 13 teams, while 16 teams competed in the Division II Boys competition. The journey began in March, with tryouts held at RAC Field in Fairfax from March 13 through May 1. Players from across the state competed together as coaches evaluated them and selected the final rosters. Practices began three times a week toward the end of the school year at Oakton High School or Lake Fairfax Park. Earlier in the summer, the teams competed in other tournaments. The Vortex played together in Durham, North Carolina, at July’s Southeast Showdown and later competed in the Battle for the Beltway at Lake Fairfax Park on July 18 and 19. Although players were selected from throughout Virginia, the Reston-South Lakes “Seahucks” team was well represented. The Vanguard roster included Zane Mott, No. 5, and Matt Hazlin, No. 17. South Lakes coach Eric Minor also served on the Vanguard coaching staff. The Vortex included South Lakes players Colin Willer, No. 12; Roman Moreno-Hines, No. 16; Thomas Murphey, No. 23; Jackson Snell, No. 22; and Stephen Reider, No. 52. Pool play began Aug. 1, at Aurora Sports Park in Aurora, Colorado. The second-seeded Vanguard went 1-1 in Pool B, defeating LA Sky 13-2 in its opening game before falling to KOI of Lexington, Kentucky, 13-10. The 12th-seeded Vortex won one of its three pool-play games. It opened with a 13-6 loss to Illinois Illusion, followed by a 13-7 loss to COSmic Colorado. The team finished the day with a 13-4 victory over Connecticut Harpoon. The Vortex struggled in crossover play, losing to Charlotte Flight before falling 11-10 to Colorado Cutthroat in its first bracket game. The teams traded points after the Vortex took an early 1-0 lead, eventually reaching a 10-10 tie before Colorado scored the winning point and sent Vortex to the 13th-place game. Vortex responded with a 13-4 victory over Connecticut, matching its earlier pool-play score against Harpoon. Jackson Snell led the team with nine points, followed by Levi Morrow with seven and James Smialowicz with six. Gavin Smith recorded 24 assists over the team’s seven games. The Vanguard had a stronger tournament, defeating Equinox of Montpelier, Vt., 12-10 in the play-in game to advance to the quarterfinals. Vanguard then defeated MN Superior 13-9. In the semifinals, Vanguard faced KOI, which jumped to a 4-0 lead before Vanguard answered with a point. Trailing 7-3 later in the game, Vanguard rallied to close the gap to 7-6, but KOI scored the next few points to win 10-7. Vanguard then fell to the Madison Mufabots of Madison, Wis., 14-10, in the third-place game. Carter Anderson led Vanguard with nine goals, while Ellie Cymrot and Abigail Glassman each had eight and Gretchen Schmitt had seven. Hazlin recorded 20 assists for Vanguard.

Contributed by Reston Art Gallery Rosemarie Forsythe's paintings are on display at Reston Art Gallery through Sept. 27 with artist's reception on Sept. 13 from 2-4 p.m. Above: "Winter Stillness" “Natural Wonders,” a solo exhibition of Rosemarie Forsythe’s paintings inspired by the natural world, is on view through Sept. 27 at Reston Art Gallery & Studios at Lake Anne Plaza. The gallery will host a reception with the artist from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13. Scenes from Forsythe’s Virginia backyard and places she encountered while living and working around the world inspire the paintings in the show. Horses, parrots, leopards, an alligator, fish and birds appear alongside forests, flowers, palm trees and other landscapes. The paintings range from Southern sand dunes to northern winter settings with birch trees, while others depict fish swimming through deep blue water and animals among lilies, ferns and wildflowers. The artist works primarily in acrylic, adding 23-karat gold leaf and gold rivets to create texture. Inspired in part by 15th-century illuminated manuscripts, her work incorporates mathematical and physics equations related to her subjects, including the mechanics of a horse’s movement and the speed of a leopard. A former U.S. diplomat, policymaker and international business executive, Forsythe lived in seven countries and visited more than 60. Self-taught as an artist, she draws on her professional experiences and interests in science, mathematics and different cultures in her work. “Natural Wonders” is open Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. at 11400 Washington Plaza West in Reston. Appointments are available by emailing art@ restonartgallery.com. More information about Forsythe and her work is available at rosemarieforsythe.com/ and restonartgallery.com/

By Sean Joyner, estate planning attorney Every parent has had the thought, usually somewhere between merging onto the highway and glancing at a text from the babysitter: What happens to my kids if we don't make it home tonight? Most parents think they've addressed it. They recall a brief conversation years ago: "If anything happened to us, you'd take the kids, right?" The chosen guardian agrees, and everyone believes the issue is resolved. But that casual conversation carries no legal authority. Without properly executed documents, no one—not your closest friend, your brother or even your own mother—has an automatic legal right to take custody of your children in an emergency. A complete guardianship plan has two critical parts: The emergency (short-term) guardian This is someone who lives 20 to 30 minutes away, such as a local friend or neighbor. In an accident or other emergency, responders cannot simply hand your children over to an adult who has not been designated. If your chosen guardian lives out of state or isn't immediately available, your children could spend traumatic hours or days in temporary state custody while arrangements are made. A short-term guardian can step in immediately to care for your children until long-term arrangements are made. The permanent (long-term) guardian These are the people who will raise your children to adulthood. Beyond shared values, consider continuity. Moving out of state can mean taking your children away from their school, friends and community roots—the sources of stability they may need most during an already traumatic time. You have the authority to select the adults best suited to maintain that continuity and honor your parenting style, whether that means a relative or a close family friend. Confidential exclusions Sometimes protecting your children is less about whom you choose and more about whom you want to exclude. If there is a specific relative who should never raise your children because of past conflicts, differing values or lifestyle concerns, you may be able to execute a confidential exclusion document. This private legal document can tell the court whom you do not want appointed as guardian and why. It can help ensure that your wishes are considered if a family member seeks custody. The court gap Without a signed nomination, the decision falls to a judge at the Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court. The court will consider factors such as the children's best interests, the circumstances of the proposed guardians and the availability of suitable caregivers. Your unwritten wishes, however, may never reach the courtroom. For example, you may prefer an out-of-state sister and her partner, while another local relative whom you would not choose seeks custody. Without proper documentation, the court may not know your preferences. Part of a broader plan Guardianship is just one piece of a comprehensive estate plan. While it addresses who will care for your children, a complete plan also protects their financial future. Establishing a trust can provide guardians with access to resources for your children while helping avoid unnecessary court involvement. Creating a guardianship plan can take one afternoon. It can help protect your children in an emergency and ensure they are raised by the people you choose. Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this article does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws vary by state, and readers should consult a qualified estate planning attorney regarding their specific legal needs. Sean Joyner is an estate planning attorney at Joyner Trust Law (joynertrustlaw.com/, 703-485-8995), helping Northern Virginia families protect what matters most.

Contributed by Reston Town Center Association Vertical Horizon will headline Rocktoberfest at Town Center on Oct. 10. Photo contributed by RTC Association Vertical Horizon will headline the second annual Rocktoberfest at Reston Town Center on Saturday, Oct. 10, joining two regional bands with strong local ties for a free evening of live music. The concert, presented by the Reston Town Center Association and BXP, will begin at 6 p.m. with Virginia Coalition, followed by Everything at 7:30 p.m. Vertical Horizon is scheduled to take the stage around 9 p.m. Vertical Horizon's 1999 album, “Everything You Want,” was certified double platinum, and its title track was Billboard's most-played single of 2000. All three bands have roots in the Washington region. Vertical Horizon's founders met as students at Georgetown University. Everything grew out of musicians who began playing together at James Madison University, while Virginia Coalition's five founding members formed the band while attending T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria. “By bringing together a marquee, top-to-bottom lineup of DMV superstars with national cred, huge hits and dedicated followings,” Rocktoberfest will build on the success of last year's inaugural event, said Robert Goudie, executive director of the Reston Town Center Association. The concert will take place at the Pavilion at Reston Town Center. As with the center's summer concert series, Rocktoberfest will offer Sip & Stroll, allowing attendees to purchase beverages from 11 participating establishments surrounding the venue and bring them into the concert area, subject to event rules. Free parking will be available throughout the day and evening in Reston Town Center's garages. Alexandra Young, BXP's vice president of regional marketing, said the fall event is intended to build on the experience offered by the center's summer concerts. “This lineup takes it up three notches, with iconic hits, national acclaim and a celebration of local ties,” Young said. Rocktoberfest is supported by Hyatt Regency Reston as artist accommodations sponsor and Makers Union as artist hospitality sponsor. RTCA and BXP are partnering with Party DC to book performers, while Meerkat Sound is providing lighting and sound. For more information, including event details and Sip & Stroll rules, visit the Reston Town Center Association's Rocktoberfest webpage.

First in a multi-part series on how Reston’s “Live, Work, Play” original vision is evolving as the town moves toward the 2030s and beyond. By Gene Powell, staff writer One of the many development sites is near Isaac Newton Square looking toward Hidden Creek Country Club and Town Center in the distance. Photo by Benjamin Burgess Reston—once again in its 62-year history—is at an inflection point. Major decisions are being made today on housing and commercial redevelopment, from housing density and the repurposing of commercial buildings into townhouse development to the future of one, if not both, signature golf courses. Metro’s Silver Line Phase 1 reached Reston in 2014, and Phase 2 added two more Reston stops, Herndon and Ashburn stops, and reached Dulles in 2022. A 1964 article in The New York Times is reported to have praised newly founded Reston as “one of the most striking communities in the United States,” noting a commitment to innovative design and diversity. Founder and developer Robert E. Simon said at the time he envisioned it as a place where people of all races and backgrounds could live in harmony. Success came quickly to New Town. The first family moved into Reston in 1964, and all of the existing commercial spaces were leased by February 1965, according to the town’s history as reported by the Reston Museum. Simon was inspired by what had been named the “Garden City” urban design movement, with its emphasis on walkable neighborhoods within an urban area, green spaces and mixed-use residential, commercial and light industrial development. Simon prioritized residential amenities—pools, tennis courts and pedestrian pathways—intertwined with housing “Clusters” and commercial “Village Centers.” Simon also saw the need for a “Town Center,” a relatively dense urban core with commercial outlets, restaurants, a plaza and park as prime features to draw the entire community together. In many ways, Reston holds true to Simon’s vision of a vibrant, egalitarian, highly educated and socially conscious urban homestead—albeit in 2026 with a touch of outsized prosperity, soaring residential values and an aging population. • A diverse population: The 2024 U.S. Census identified the town’s 65,052 residents (up from 63,226 in 2020 and 58,404 in 2010) as 51% White, 16% Hispanic/Latino, 10% Asian and 7% Black, with 15.4% identifying themselves as “two or more races.” The report also noted Reston’s “foreign-born population” stood at 23.4%. • A median household income of $154,151, about 1.3 times higher than the DMV area surrounding Washington, D.C. • 96.1% of Reston’s adults held a high school degree or higher. • A poverty rate of 7.9%, less than the DMV’s 8.3%, Virginia’s 8.3% and the nation’s 12.2%. • An attractive mix of community, business and technology, creating what some call the “Silicon Valley of the East,” now home to offices of Microsoft, Leidos, Oracle, Verisign, Google, Amazon Web Services, SAIC, CACI International and others. But can the “green” community marked by tree-lined residential streets that see a mix of single-family, townhouse and multifamily dwellings retain its identity with newer housing projects focused on townhomes, low-rise “stacked townhomes” or high-rise condo or apart- ment buildings? The most visible sites among new housing options: Skymark Reston Town Center, a 40-story apartment building that is the highest mixed-use structure in the D.C. area, and the J.W. Marriott at Reston Station, a 28-story building with 240 hotel rooms and 48 condominiums - one of which sold this summer for nearly $11 million. Both opened in 2025 and faced criticism from some who said they were not compatible with Reston’s original residential designs. The most-visible conflict: A long-running battle over the future of Reston National Golf Course. Will it remain one of the town’s major green spaces, or will it become a site for new housing? On one side are what a county planner called “the pioneers,” who fear the loss of what brought them and others to Reston decades ago. On the other is a developer who sees an underused, if valuable, community asset as a prime candidate for new housing in a booming urban area. A recent county-sponsored preview aimed to spark community comment on redevelopment from commercial buildings to residential use of an 112-acre area called “Reston East,” between the Dulles Toll Road and Sunrise Valley Drive. County planners and developers displayed charts and drawings of what might happen to the area’s rapidly aging commercial buildings. But the Restonians attending the session were largely focused on how changes would impact their property and lives, from increased traffic to demands on schools and recreational areas. One couple, who said they were longtime homeowners, asked aloud if this “will look like Reston?” Next: As residential projects and long-planned ex- pansions such as Reston Town Center North unfold, can Reston sustain Simon’s dream?

By Casey Menish, Reston neighbor Nineteen years after Brian Menish nearly lost his life in a moped wreck in Reston, and despite years of therapy, he is still partially disabled on his right side and has a speech impairment. His sister hopes his story serves as a reminder to the many kids on e-motorcycles today. Photo contributed by Casey Menish A few weeks ago, I was walking my dog on the path between South Lakes Drive and Lake Thoreau when two kids rushed past me on an e-motorbike. The driver at least had his helmet on, but the kid on the back was wearing sandals. Although the passenger had a helmet on his head, it wasn’t clipped, so it would do him no good in a crash. Then, just minutes later, another kid passed us without a helmet and wearing Crocs as he sped by on his similar electric vehicle on the path. I have been horrified to see how many teens and children are recklessly zipping around Reston on e-motorbikes this summer. I have good reason to be horrified. Nineteen years ago, in 2007, my brother Brian nearly lost his life when he crashed his moped. The memories of my brother’s traumatic brain injury come back to me all the time. For a while, it seemed like the popularity of mopeds went away, but the recent trend of e-motorbikes proves that history doesn’t always repeat itself, but it rhymes. July 7, 2007. I was 16 years old, and my dad knocked on my bedroom door early that Saturday morning to tell me my brother had crashed his moped and was in the hospital. Assuming that Brian had just broken his arm, I groaned, “Ugh, do I have to go?” My dad insisted we had to go immediately, so I rolled out of bed and walked down to the car, fully expecting my brother would have some bruises and scratches. But as soon as I opened the door to the garage, I saw it: Brian’s pristine white helmet. My heart sank as I realized that if Brian’s helmet was in the garage, we were headed for a much more dire situation at the hospital. The summer of 2007 was supposed to be all fun for the seniors from Herndon High School as they enjoyed their last summer together before heading off to college. Brian went to a party at a friend’s house on July 6, and he made two critical mistakes that would alter the course of his life forever. He chose to ride his moped while intoxicated, and he chose not to wear a helmet. In the early morning hours of July 7, Brian drove his moped around the winding bends of Shaker Woods Road. He crashed into the guardrail, was thrown off the bike 25 feet into a ravine and fractured his skull. Brian remembers trying to yell for help, but no screams came. He also remembers trying to claw his way out of the ravine but being able to use only his left hand. His left-side brain injury left him there for hours, unable to yell or use the right side of his body, hopeless and alone. By some miracle, a neighbor couldn’t sleep that night. He was on the road to a 24-hour grocery store around 3 a.m. when he saw Brian’s moped crashed on its side, with the headlights shining into the dark woods. The man heard someone mumbling, trying to yell. He didn’t have a cellphone, so he couldn’t call for help. He didn’t want to leave Brian, but he didn’t want to stay and risk Brian not getting help. A few minutes into his panic, a car full of young men pulled up, called 911 and one of the boys went down the ravine to make sure Brian was not alone. We still don’t know who that was. The crash was so close to our home that my dad remembers hearing the helicopter that rushed Brian to the ICU at Fairfax Hospital. I remember the doctor telling us very bluntly that Brian had slim chances. My dad tried to clarify: “Slim chances to walk again? Talk again?” And the doctor replied, “Slim chances of living.” After his initial emergency brain surgery, we sat with Brian for hours. He was hooked up to dozens of monitors and lifesaving devices. When my dad stepped away for a moment, the nurse told me it was a good time to tell my brother goodbye while I had a few minutes alone with him. My mom was traveling in New Mexico at the time, and she dropped everything to fly home. When she arrived just a few hours later, the waiting room at the hospital was full of dozens of seniors from the HHS class of 2007. In small groups, Brian’s friends were allowed to go into the ICU to see him. When his best friend came in, we could see Brian trying to push himself up. The nurse told us not to get our hopes up, that it was likely just the anesthesia wearing off. But I knew at that moment that my stubborn big brother would make it. Fast-forward to 2026, and my brother Brian is still partially disabled from his traumatic brain injury. He never regained the use of his right arm, he walks with a limp and sometimes his speech is still a little slow. But he taught himself to walk again, how to talk again and, despite his physical disabilities, he has even completed triathlons and taught himself how to paint with his left hand. He earned a college degree, established a successful portfolio of investment properties in California, and he has sole custody of his 6-year-old son, whom he is literally and figuratively raising single-handedly. July 7, 2007 was the worst day of my family’s life, but I also count it as the luckiest day because Brian survived his moped accident. Not all children or their families are as lucky. I was happy to see The Reston Letter publish an article about e-bike safety on the front page of the July 2026 issue. Coming from a woman whose family was devastated by a moped crash and who still struggles with the aftermath nearly 20 years later, I have to implore you: If you’re considering getting an e-motorbike for your kid, please think twice. And if your child already has one, please make sure they understand that properly wearing a helmet and appropriate footwear is not negotiable. They need to ride safely and understand the laws and rules of the road, or they could get themselves or someone else killed.