Gymboree Teacher May Have Died Before Car Struck Pole

The Fairfax County Police Department is looking into the possibility that Casey Noriega, the 29-year-old gym teacher and mother who was killed Saturday in Kingstowne, may have died before the crash, according to family friends.

FCPD investigates all fatal accidents and it's possible Noriega could have suffered from some medical condition prior to the crash, said FCPD spokesman Don Gotthardt. The state medical examiner's office determines on a case-by-case basis whether someone dies from a medical condition or the blunt force trauma of a car accident, he said.

Noriega's fatal accident occurred at about 2:30 p.m. Saturday, after she left her job at Gymboree Music and Arts, 318 S. Pickett St., where she was a teacher for six years. The accident, which took place at Beulah Street and Windsor Avenue, was about 1.4 miles from her home. 

An autopsy could show whether Noriega suffered from some sort of fatal attack, such as an aneurysm, heart attack or pulmonary embolism, prior to the accident. 

Meanwhile, Gymboree Music and Arts' employees on Wednesday were anxious to hear about funeral arrangements for Noriega. "She had more energy than anyone I've ever known," said Gymboree owner Wilma Hazen. "She touched a lot of families." Noriega taught at the Alexandria location as well as at the Gymboree in Burke.

Gymboree has set up a scholarship fund for Noriega's son Rasheed on a memorial site. Checks may be made out to the Rasheed M. Thompson Educational Fund and dropped off at any  or be made through PayPal from the site. Anyone wishing to leave a check at Gymboree should make out a check to Esther Mercado, Noriega's mother.

It's expected that funeral arrangements will be made public on the memorial site. 

Noriega would have turned 30 this coming Saturday, Dec. 17, her birthday.