Mary Wong, 63, was walking home from work about 8 p.m. Dec. 27 when she was struck in a crosswalk near her home in Springfield.

“Life just completely changed in that one moment,” said her daughter, Jeanie Wong.

Her mother’s prognosis doesn’t look good.

“They can’t really operate on her, so we’re just hoping that she wakes up,” said the victim’s son, David Wong. “Every day we try to stay positive, but the news from the doctors just aren’t that great.”

The Wongs’ father died of a heart attack in December 2021.

“It’s just so unfair that this had to happen so early on after we lost my dad,” David Wong said.

He and his sister say their mother always put them first and is the type of person who wants to make others happy.

“She’s just very warm,” Jeanie Wong said. “She would always ask people if they were hungry so she could find a reason to cook something in the kitchen and overfeed us.”

Fairfax County police reviewed surveillance video and believe a sedan hit Mary Wong.

“I’d want to say to them that they took our definition of home away from us,” David Wong said. “If you have any sort of self-conscience, I hope you step up and just admit to it.”

The family set up an online fundraiser to help with medical expenses.

Visitors will find 12 immersive zones, from the Imagination Express to Build Adventures, where kids can design their own Lego creations.

Mini World houses some of D.C.’s most recognizable places like the U.S. Capitol and the Tidal Basin.

“Kids and their families are really learning while they are playing, while they are creating amazing memories together using math, science and technology,” Julie Estrada, Merlin Entertainment’s public relations director, said.

The master model builder at the center is a local himself. Andrew Litterst is a former environmental science teacher and Lego enthusiast. He entered a competition to get this job.

“All of this is made of a million and a half bricks and took a team of over 25 model builders, and 4,065 hours total to put together,” Litterst said, adding that this is his dream job.

“I literally get paid to sit around and play with Legos, interact with guests, teach some classes, which is kind of a tie-in to my previous career,” Litterst told News4’s Juliana Valencia.

The Lego Discovery Center officially opens Thursday, August 10. Admission costs $28.99-$30.99. It’s geared toward kids aged 3-12.

“To ensure a consistently child-friendly play environment, we do not allow groups of adults, adult couples or adults alone regardless of ethnic background, gender or physical condition, who are not accompanied by a child/children,” the center says. However, certain adults-only events are in the works.

The center sold out its first few days, so it’s a good idea to reserve your tickets online before visiting.

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Ronnie Marshall was found guilty last year of shooting Dr. Edward McDaniel and Brenda McDaniel to death in the driveway of their Springfield home on May 26, 2021.

Marshall, then 20, had worked with the victims’ son at FedEx and had accused his coworker of stealing from him, police said.

Two days before the McDaniels were slain, Marshall broke into the family’s home, where Edward McDaniel met him with a shotgun and ordered him to leave.

But, prosecutors said, Marshall returned days later and killed the couple because he didn’t want them to identify him to police. The McDaniels’ son testified last week he watched out the window as Marshall approached the couple but ran to a bathroom for his safety when he heard gunfire.

Loved ones tearfully testified Friday about the devastating impact the murders had on their family.

“To this day I’m in shock and disbelief that this horrendous murder happened to me and my family,” Edward McDaniel’s sister Melodie McDaniel, testified in court on Friday. “His actions were nothing but pure evil. … I will have to live with this emptiness my entire life.”

Edward McDaniel’s mother Felice said her son was her rock and advisor in her battle against stage four breast cancer.

“Edward will not be there to hold my hand at my end of my life and make me feel comforted and loved,” she told the judge.

The judge gave Marshall the maximum sentence of life without parole for the murders in addition to eight more years on two gun charges.

“It’s just an incredible loss. I mean, we’re talking about the McDaniel famly who spent their lives and their careers helping others, serving others,” Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said.

During the trial, Marshall’s attorney questioned whether the masked gunman who shot the couple really was his client.

A jury found Marshall guilty in November of aggravated murder and two counts of use of a firearm in a murder. Aggravated murder applies when two or more people are killed in the same incident, prosecutors said.

“This was a highly emotional and tragic case that ended the lives of two respected members of the Army and our community,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said after Marshall was found guilty. “Mr. and Mrs. McDaniel were killed in their own driveway while taking their dog for a walk.”

“While there are no winners in a case like this, I’m glad Mr. Marshall is being held accountable for his crimes, and I hope this conviction brings some level of closure to the McDaniel family,” Descano said.

In the immediate aftermath of the killings, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said, “We’ve lost two brave, dedicated, life-long servants to our country. Two full colonels were murdered in a residential neighborhood community.”

Col. Edward McDaniel, 55, was an internal medicine doctor in the Army from June 1995 to May 2021. He was director of executive medicine at Ft. Belvoir Community Hospital, authorities have said. Col. Brenda McDaniel, 63, was a medical-surgical nurse in the Army from September 1983 to September 2009 and had retired.

 D’Angelo Strand, then 19, was also charged in the case and testified for the prosecution against Marshall.

Zachary Burkard, 20, was sentenced Thursday to 10 years for each voluntary manslaughter charge in the deaths of 17-year-old Ersheen Elaiaiser and 16-year-old Calvin Van Pelt. Once he gets out of prison he will have an additional three years of supervision.

Burkard, who was 18 at the time of the crime, was found guilty of manslaughter but not guilty of murder in August for Elaiaiser’s and Van Pelt’s deaths. Elaiaiser’s mother and another relative collapsed in apparent shock.

A jury recommended in August of 2022 that Burkard receive 20 years, the maximum possible penalty.

“This is not justice,” Elaiaiser’s father said after the jury’s sentencing recommendation. 

Burkard told the jury he opened fire on the two South County High School students on April 25, 2021 because four teens had just beat up his friend and he was afraid they were all armed. He said he fired in self-defense.

Elaiaiser was shot twice in the chest and Van Pelt was shot once in the back at a home in the 8000 block of Winding Way Court, prosecutors said. 

“So sorry that this happened to him. You know, as a father, as a man, you’re supposed to protect your kids and part of me feels like I failed. But I didn’t pull that trigger,” Van Pelt’s father Michael Winfield said Thursday.

“He had a vision of the things he wanted to accomplish in the future, and his friends are definitely working to achieve those things,” Elaiaiser’s sister Nidal Elaiaiser said.

Burkard showed little emotion when he took the stand, but said “No!” when asked if he had meant to kill Elaiaiser. He said he was in an ongoing dispute with Elaiaiser and was at a friend’s house when he heard the 17-year-old was headed to the house with three others.

“I was scared. They said they would kill us. I was not prepared for this at all,” Burkard told the court.

Burkard admitted he had been dealing drugs and had taunted Elaiaiser in a video, which was shown to the jury.

Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano previously said that while he shared the families’ disappointment that Burkard was not convicted of murder, he believed the jury’s recommended sentence sent a strong message. 

“What it shows me is that they believed that there was a self-defense claim but not that it comported with law, but also that killing two young people with a fully automatic ghost gun is serious and deserves serious punishment,” he said. 

Descano said the teens’ tragic deaths underscore two big problems fueling violence among teens: social media disputes and access to untraceable ghost guns. 

“Anytime you have a gun like this that can be modified, that violence is going to lead to more death,” Descano said. “The only reason to have these types of guns is to commit crimes.” 

Peter Cadigan, 50, and Peggy Finley, 44, who were emergency medical workers for LifeStar, were charged with first-degree murder after the death of Earl L. Moore Jr, 35, on Dec. 18, 2022, Sangamon County State’s Attorney Dan Wright said Tuesday.

Investigators said Cadigan and Finley incorrectly placed Moore face-down on a stretcher with a medical strap across his back while transporting him to the hospital. Moore then died from compressional and positional asphyxia shortly after arriving at the hospital.

According to authorities, police officers had initially responded to a house in Springfield, Illinois, around 2 a.m. after receiving a call about people inside with firearms.

Once at the scene, officers then found Moore lying in his bed and “quickly realized that he was in need of medical assistance,” police said. An ambulance was then called and arrived at the home at 2:18 a.m. 

Body camera footage shows a female paramedic instructing Moore to walk to the ambulance even though he “was not able to walk and medical personnel were not offering any assistance,” police said. 

Three officers then took turns helping Moore through the home before medical personnel placed him on the stretcher in a prone face-down position and secured him prior to transport, body camera footage shows.

Moore died at the hospital at 3:14 a.m. and his death was classified as a homicide, Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon said at the Tuesday news conference.

The attorneys for the pair and LifeStar Ambulance Service did not immediately respond to requests by NBC News for comment. Their next court date is set for Jan. 19.

On Nov. 11, Fairfax County police said they received calls about a man running in traffic on Amherst Avenue in Springfield.

Bodycam video shows the man, 44-year-old Temiki Murray, when officers first arrived.

“He’s running down Amherst South, appears to be maybe under the influence of some sort of narcotic,” an officer can be heard saying in the video.

Police said they chased Murray to a nearby parking lot, and that’s when a FedEx driver stepped in to try and calm him down.

“We got a FedEx driver here that’s got some good rapport with him. I’m gonna wait until another officer gets here,” an officer says.

The officer later calls for an ambulance and takes Murray into custody.

“I don’t want you running from me because we want to get you help. You’re not in trouble, alright, but I want to detain you because I don’t want you running away,” the officer tells Murray.

“Relax, I’m gonna put you in cuffs but you’re not in trouble, okay?” the officer said

Shortly after, the video shows Murray in distress and lying on the ground while still in handcuffs.

Police said after Murray was put in an ambulance, he had some type of medical emergency. The video shows a paramedic doing CPR.

Murray was pronounced dead when he got to the hospital, police said.

Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said Thursday he was proud of how officers responded.

“Everything we did here is textbook, best practice, and by the book,” Davis said. “The words that Fairfax County police officers are trained to use when they de-escalate circumstances just like this one include, ‘We’re here to help. You’re not in trouble,’ and you heard those words used repeatedly.”

Murrya’s parents declined an on-camera interview with News4, but said they were satisfied with how police handled the situation.

Police said they’re still waiting for the autopsy report to learn how exactly how Murray died.

Police said the killer, Ronnie Marshall, then 20, had worked with the victims’ son at FedEx and had accused his coworker of stealing from him.

Authorities say two days before Edward and Brenda McDaniel were slain in May 2021, Marshall broke into the family’s home, where Edward McDaniel met him with a shotgun and ordered him to leave.

But, prosecutors said, Marshall returned on May 26 and killed the couple because he didn’t want them to identify him to police. The McDaniels’ son testified last week he watched out the window as Marshall approached the couple but ran to a bathroom for his safety when he heard gunfire.

The victims were found shot to death in the driveway of their home in the 8000 block of Flint Street in Springfield.

Marshall’s attorney questioned whether the masked gunman who shot the couple really was his client.

On Wednesday, a jury found Marshall guilty of aggravated murder and two counts of use of a firearm in a murder. Aggravated murder applies when two or more people are killed in the same incident, prosecutors said.

“This was a highly emotional and tragic case that ended the lives of two respected members of the Army and our community,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. “Mr. and Mrs. McDaniel were killed in their own driveway while taking their dog for a walk.”

Marshall faces up to life in prison when he’s sentenced Feb. 24.

“While there are no winners in a case like this, I’m glad Mr. Marshall is being held accountable for his crimes, and I hope this conviction brings some level of closure to the McDaniel family,” Descano said.

In the immediate aftermath of the killings, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said, “We’ve lost two brave, dedicated, life-long servants to our country. Two full colonels were murdered in a residential neighborhood community.”

Col. Edward McDaniel, 55, was an internal medicine doctor in the Army from June 1995 to May 2021. He was director of executive medicine at Ft. Belvoir Community Hospital, authorities have said. Col. Brenda McDaniel, 63, was a medical-surgical nurse in the Army from September 1983 to September 2009 and had retired.

 D’Angelo Strand, then 19, was also charged in the case and testified for the prosecution against Marshall.

A hearing is scheduled for Nov. 18 to determine the next steps in Strand’s case. He is charged as an accessory after the fact for driving Marshall to and from the McDaniels’ home the day of the killings.

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A Fairfax County jury recommended on Tuesday that Zachary Burkard receive the maximum possible penalty for the deaths of 17-year-old Ersheen Elaiaiser and 16-year-old Calvin Van Pelt, with a 10-year sentence for killing each boy.

A judge will formally sentence Burkard in December and will be able to agree with the jury’s recommendation or reduce the sentence, and decide whether Burkard’s two 10-year sentences should be served one after the other or at the same time. 

Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano will ask the judge to impose the full 20 years.

Burkard’s lawyer said he will make a motion in December to set aside the verdict. Defense attorneys had asked jurors to impose a five-year term.

Burkard, who was 18 at the time of the crime, was found guilty of manslaughter but not guilty of murder on Monday for Elaiaiser’s and Van Pelt’s deaths. Elaiaiser’s mother and another relative collapsed in apparent shock. 

As the sentencing recommendation was reached in court Tuesday, Burkard and his mother showed no emotion. Several of the victims’ relatives began to cry, though a few seem pleased that the jury recommended the maximum sentence. 

“This is not justice,” Elaiaiser’s father said outside the courthouse. 

Descano said that while he shared the families’ disappointment that Burkard was not convicted of murder, he believes that the jury’s recommended sentence sends a strong message. 

“What it shows me is that they believed that there was a self-defense claim but not that it comported with law, but also that killing two young people with a fully automatic ghost gun is serious and deserves serious punishment,” he said. 

The commonwealth’s attorney said the teens’ tragic deaths underscore two big problems fueling violence among teens: social media disputes and access to untraceable ghost guns. 

“Anytime you have a gun like this that can be modified, that violence is going to lead to more death,” Descano said. “The only reason to have these types of guns is to commit crimes.” 

Burkard told the jury he opened fire on the two South County High School students on April 25, 2021 because four teens had just beat up his friend and he was afraid they were all armed. He said he fired in self-defense.

Elaiaiser was shot twice in the chest and Van Pelt was shot once in the back at a home in the 8000 block of Winding Way Court, prosecutors said. 

Burkard showed little emotion when he took the stand, but said “No!” when asked if he had meant to kill Elaiaiser. He said he was in an ongoing dispute with Elaiaiser and was at a friend’s house when he heard the 17-year-old was headed to the house with three others.

“I was scared. They said they would kill us. I was not prepared for this at all,” Burkard told the court.

Burkard admitted he had been dealing drugs and had taunted Elaiaiser in a video, which was shown to the jury.

A Fairfax County jury found Zachary Burkard guilty of two counts of manslaughter, one count in the death of 16-year-old Calvin Van Pelt and the other for 17-year-old Ersheen Elaiaiser’s death.

Burkard, who was 18 at the time of the killings, was found “not guilty” of murder, a verdict that surprised and upset the victims’ families.

Elaiaisar’s mother collapsed on the courtroom floor right after the victim’s father gave his impact statement during a sentencing hearing that immediately followed the verdict.

“The pain will never go away,” Elaiaisar’s father said. “He didn’t deserve to die.”

A second relative of Elaiaisar collapsed at another point in the day, and medics took them away in an ambulance. Their condition is unknown at this time.

Van Pelt’s father, Michael Winfield, tearfully told the court, his son was his best friend.

“It’s hard every day trying to take care of my kids,” Winfield said. “Knowing my son was shot in the back for a fist fight … for a fist fight.”

Van Pelt was the oldest of seven children.

The Van Pelt family gave the following statement:

“Although we disagree with the verdict, we thank the jury for their service. There is some consolation in knowing that some degree [of] justice has been served. We continue to grieve for our son, Calvin, who was a bright light in our family. We pray that no more families have to endure the agony of losing a child to gun violence.”

During a sentencing hearing, prosecutors argued for the maximum recommended sentence of 10 years for each manslaughter charge.

“Even with this punishment, the defendant will have an advantage that Ersheen and Calvin never will: He will have a life,” the prosecutor said.

But defense attorneys asked the jurors to impose a five-year term. They argued Burkard faced significant trauma in his life and said he was born to a drug-addicted mother before he was adopted.

When Burkard was 6 years old, the family was hit by a drunk driver and his father died, his attorneys said. Burkard saw his dead father at the crash scene and he had to undergo years of therapy and medication, they said.

Defense attorneys showed a photo of Burkard as a boy with the caption “A boy worth saving,” as they asked jurors for leniency.

Jurors will return to court Tuesday to determine a sentence.

Burkard testified last Tuesday, and told the jury he opened fire on April 25, 2021 because four teens had just beat up his friend and he was afraid they were all armed. He said he fired in self defense.

Elaiaiser was shot twice in the chest and Van Pelt was shot once in the back at a home in the 8000 block of Winding Way Court, prosecutors said. Both teens died.

Burkard showed little emotion when he took the stand, but said “no!” when asked if he meant to kill Elaiaiser.

He said he was in an ongoing dispute with Elaiaiser and was at his friend Nick’s house when he heard the 17-year-old was coming to the house with three others.

“I was scared. They said they would kill us. I was not prepared for this at all,” Burkard told the court.

Burkard admitted he had been dealing drugs and had taunted Elaiaiser in a video, which was shown to the jury.

He testified he was in a basement room when he heard his friend Nick get into a fight out in the garage.

“I opened the door. I was not planning to shoot anyone. I saw Nick on the ground with four people around him,” Burkard said. “I raised the gun and I told them to get back. Nick looked like he was unconscious. I raised and dropped the gun several times. Then, Ersheen started racing toward me. I thought he would pull out a gun and shoot me. I was terrified.”

On cross examination, Burkard admitted he made two videos in which he threatened Elaiaiser with guns and said the teen would be 6 feet under if he tried anything.

Zachary Burkard showed little emotion and calmly told his story as his defense attorney questioned him inside the courtroom. He told the jury he opened fire on April 25, 2021 because four teens had just beat up his friend and he was afraid they were all armed.

Ersheen Elaiaiser, 17, was shot twice in the chest and 16-year-old Calvin Van Pelt was shot once in the back at a home in the 8000 block of Winding Way Court, prosecutors said. Both teens died.

Burkard’s only emotion Tuesday came when the attorney asked him if he meant to kill Elaiaiser.

“No!” he said, raising his voice.

Burkard said he was in an ongoing dispute with Elaiaiser and was at his friend Nick’s house when he heard the 17-year-old was coming to the house with three others.

“I was scared. They said they would kill us. I was not prepared for this at all,” Burkard told the court.

Burkard admitted he had been dealing drugs and had taunted Elaiaiser in a video, which was shown to the jury.

He testified he was in a basement room when he heard his friend Nick get into a fight out in the garage.

“I opened the door. I was not planning to shoot anyone. I saw Nick on the ground with four people around him,” Burkard said. “I raised the gun and I told them to get back. Nick looked like he was unconscious. I raised and dropped the gun several times. Then, Ersheen started racing toward me. I thought he would pull out a gun and shoot me. I was terrified.”

On cross examination, Burkard admitted he made two videos in which he threatened Elaiaiser with guns and said the teen would be 6 feet under if he tried anything.

The prosecution is expected to rest its case Tuesday, with closing arguments expected Wednesday morning.

Jose Hernandez Mejia, 49, was arrested Monday morning, police said. He had been wanted in the stabbing death on Sunday and was considered armed and dangerous. 

Evelin Molina was the victim, police said in an update Monday afternoon. Police did not say how old she was.

Molina and Hernandez Mejia shared four children together, police said. They were not home at the time of the killing, the department said.

Officers were called to a home in the 5200 block of Rolling Road at about noon Sunday. They found Molina with stab wounds, and she was pronounced dead. 

The victim’s uncle told authorities that her husband killed her, according to a dispatch call. Police said they found a bloody knife in the home. 

Police believed that Hernandez Mejia was going to turn himself in but he did not, Lt. Dan Spital said. 

The department asked the public to help search for Hernandez Mejia and his vehicle and warned that he should not be approached. He was suspected of second-degree murder, they said.

Police immediately began searching for Hernandez Mejia and contacted the the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division on Monday morning. That division’s officers and Anderson County deputies found Hernandez Mejia traveling on Interstate 85. He will be extradited to Fairfax County.

The department said they had received “minimal” calls for service to the family’s home in the past, and none for any domestic incidents.

“These domestic-related homicides are awful, and we are doing everything that we can to try to help families that are in crisis,” Spital said. 

Anyone with potentially relevant information is asked to contact police.

Stay with NBC Washington for more on this developing story.

A woman was found stabbed to death inside a home in Springfield, Virginia, and authorities are searching for the victim’s husband as a suspect in her killing, Fairfax County police said Sunday afternoon.

Officers were called at about noon to a home in the 5200 block of Rolling Road in Springfield. The victim, whose name has not been released, had “upper body trauma consistent with stab wounds,” according to Lt. Dan Spital, of the Fairfax County Police Department’s Public Affairs Bureau.

Police are looking for Jose Hernandez Mejia, the victim’s husband, as a suspect in the case. He faces a second-degree murder charge.

“He asked his family member to come to the scene, and explained to his family member that he had just stabbed his wife,” Spital said. “We were under the impression that he was going to turn himself in. However, that has not happened.”

Mejia was last seen driving a 2016 black Honda HR-VVA with license plate TXV1986. He is considered armed and dangerous.

“We’re asking for the public’s help. If you know his whereabouts or you see him or his vehicle, we’re asking you to contact the police immediately and do not approach,” Spital said.

The couple shared four children, and all are safe, according to authorities. Police added that they had received “minimal” calls for service from the home in the past, and none for any domestic-related incidents.

Police said they also found a bloody knife inside the home.

“These domestic-related homicides are awful, and we are doing everything that we can to try to help families that are in crisis,” Spital said. “Mr. Hernandez-Mejia, we’re asking you to turn yourself in safely, so we can hear your side of the story.”

Rolling Road was closed between Burke Lake Road and Parliament Drive as part of the investigation, police said about 2:20 p.m.

Stay with NBC Washington for more on this developing story.