VA- Vanessa Schwartz, 35, hit on I-495 after being "thrown out" of Uber, Fairfax County, March 10, 2024

[duckduck]

Wondering what my fellow Websleuthers think on this one. Definitely feels like there is more to this story.

New mom killed on first night out since her daughter's birth

Vanessa Schwartz, 35, was on her way home from an evening with her husband Michael when she was hit while walking along Interstate 495 in Fairfax County, Virginia at 4am on Sunday.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Eli9]

Wondering what my fellow Websleuthers think on this one. Definitely feels like there is more to this story.

New mom killed on first night out since her daughter's birth

Vanessa Schwartz, 35, was on her way home from an evening with her husband Michael when she was hit while walking along Interstate 495 in Fairfax County, Virginia at 4am on Sunday.

www.dailymail.co.uk

You know I had read this headline a couple of times (never the whole article) in the DM but didn't realize
A. She was out with her husband
B. That there is a 3 hour time frame that is unaccounted for.
Still reading your article but that immediately threw up some flags. Thanks for bringing it here.

ETA
Just finished reading. LE doesn't seem to agree with Vanessa's loved ones that she was kicked out on the highway. Has the husband been interviewed?

 

[tlcya]

the article is unclear on where her husband was (specifically) when she was hit. They were apparently kicked out of the Uber together. Were they overly drunk, obnoxious, fighting with one another? Did he witness her being hit? The article says it was unavoidable for the driver who hit her. How did her husband avoid being hit?

Lots of questions.
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It remains unclear why Schwartz was on the highway, as NBC4 obtained unverified Uber receipts from her family that showed her ride came to an end either on the highway, or very close to it.
[snip]
The outlet also claimed that a preliminary investigation found the 2005 Honda Accord that struck Schwartz was unable to avoid hitting her.
[snip]
Although she was fatally struck at 4am, receipts also showed that the Uber lift ended at 1am. The three-hour time gap is not explained.

Although cops say she may not have been left on the highway, Schwartz' grief-stricken family have accused the Uber driver of causing the tragedy.
[snip]
Cops said in an update on Wednesday, three days after the death, that 'at this time, there is no evidence to indicate she was dropped off or left along I-495.

'Instead, it appears she made her way to the interstate from a secondary roadway.'
New mom killed on first night out since her daughter's birth

I totally get how devastating this loss must be for her loved ones, but I don't think they are telling the whole story. It is not adding up with what LE have to say about the matter. JMO

 

[Eli9]

Also the Uber receipt shows the time stamp of when the ride ended which was 3 hours before she was struck on the highway. The driver was also given a tip. The story doesn't make sense.

 

[Eli9]

This is from 3/14/24

New Mother Killed Walking On Highway After 1st Night Out Since Giving Birth | KOA 850 AM & 94.1 FM | Front Range Focus

Her family claims she was kicked out of an Uber and ended up wandering along Interstate-495 in Virginia.

koacolorado.iheart.com

It is unclear why her husband, Michael, and the other passenger in the Uber were not with her when she was struck on the highway.

 

[tlcya]

Widower sobs at funeral of wife killed 'after being kicked off Uber'

Yeah, based on the above, I'm gonna guess they were having a drunken fight. He speaks of the loving words they exchanged before leaving for their evening out as if that was their last words together. Clearly that was not the last words they spoke to one another but may have been the ones that are easier to recall than whatever the real last words were. Did they argue, get kicked out of the Uber in a neighborhood unknown to them, get separated or separate purposefully because angry with one another only for her to stumble onto the highway to her death?

I suspect he feels a great deal of guilt and it is much easier to feel angry than handle that guilt. JMO
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Meanwhile, this article seems to suggest she jumped out of the vehicle while her husband and a mutual friend did not? Weird. Not nearly enough facts in this case.
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The couple and a friend took an Uber home, but why she got out of the car on the Beltway is still unclear, according to Virginia State Police. The driver who hit Schwartz wasn't able to avoid her, police said.
Woman struck, killed on I-495 after first night out with husband since daughter's birth

 

[AzPistonsGirl]

the time stamps REPORTEDLY shows the drop off was 3 hours BEFORE she was struck though, not the other way around. (ETA: @Eli9)

Uber drivers have tossed out passengers who are throwing up in their cars I've heard. Just sayin, as not much is known/reported yet

 

[Eli9]

And another from 3/13/24

‘Didn't have to happen': Family blames Uber driver for new mother's Beltway death

The family of a new mother struck and killed on the Capital Beltway early Sunday believes an Uber driver is to blame, but Virginia State Police say they have no evidence she was dropped off on the interstate. The family of Vanessa and Michael Schwartz say the couple was in an Uber with a friend...

www.nbcwashington.com

Michael Schwartz and the friend were not on the interstate when Virginia State Police responded to the crash.

 

[Bogbacal2]

Hmmmm…not sure what to make of this one….so sad. A new mom. Now there is a baby without a mom.

 

[Eli9]

<modsnip - quoted post was removed>
What's in the area that they were dropped off in that would be open at 1am? Do bars in the area close at 2 am or are some open further into the morning I wonder.

 

[AzPistonsGirl]

Agree there must be more to this story and thanks to @duckduck for bringing it here for us to pick apart. We are always learning new things that help in other cases here.

 

[investigatefred]

I think I was typing in a rush. I have since corrected the post.
What's in the area that they were dropped off in that would be open at 1am? Do bars in the area close at 2 am or are some open further into the morning I wonder.

Being on the outskirts of DC, on the VA side, there would potentially be many places open until at least 2am. Alcohol cannot be sold after 2am in Virginia, so that's pretty standard closing time for bars, clubs and the like for that reason. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Chimera]

The Uber would know where they were dropped off at, it would be in the records/log for that evening !
Imo the Uber driver was not at fault.
Why is the family pushing this scenario ?
Also wondering how she became separated from her husband and the other passenger ?

So sorry for the little baby who is now without her mother; but the husband and friend have some 'splaining to do.
What occurred in the three hour window after they were dropped off ?
I feel badly for the person who struck her and for the Uber driver who was not at fault -- from the sound of this.
So many questions.
Omo.

 

[mlooney]

Brother said "this didn't have to happen". What didnt have to happen? The fight? The drunken stooper now on foot? Events were made worse by the drop off. But already bad. The Driver didn't start a fight.