Bringing snow back to the west. Bringing snow right now to areas like chicago, just south of chicago seeing snow. This storm making its way to our north and will allow for slightly milder air tomorrow, but were still about 10 degrees below average tomorrow. The cold pattern, it is locked in. Even colder for the new year. Wait until you see those numbers if you havent seen them already. And, yes, tracking our snow chances for saturday but really increasing as we head towards next week. Much more on all of that. See you at 6 17. Now lets look at the breaking news that caused the traffic nightmare on i95 in virginia. Police say they were closing in on a murder suspect in Stafford County and moments later officers say he shot at their cruisers. Then crashed just south of garrisonville road. News4s david culver has been following this story all day long. He is live from where this all started, near the suspects home. David . Reporter wendy, a short time ago i caught up with a neighbor who lives here, asking her about the victim in this she said this woman was a wife, she was a mother and thats pretty much all neighbors knew because she and her husband and kids moved here a couple of weeks ago. Now, deputies say for some reason this morning her husband opened fire three times, killing her, then took off to 95. Let me show you from chopper4 what this scene looked like as it came to an end. You can see what is a destroyed suv and remnants of it sprawled across 95 northbound. Shutting down those lanes for several hours. All of this happened after what was a wild shooting spree and highway chase. Bullets piercing a Virginia State troopers windshield and a Stafford County deputys cruiser. Straight through the windshield, on the drivers side, and right into the head rest. Investigators say the bullet, one of many, fired from the man driving the now totaled suv, was listen as than scene. He was shooting while driving. It wasnt that he stopped. He was shooting and driving. Reporter at 11 00 this morning Stafford County sheriffs deputy showed up here. They found a woman shot and killed. They were in search of her husband, the suspected gunman. A trooper spotted the suspects suv headed north on 95. He followed for a few miles. A witness who asked we not identify him then saw the suspect stop his car in the middle of the highway and open fire. Stopped his car in the middle of 95 in the center lane, shot at the officer in the left lane. Reporter he continued driving. The witness says causing more crashes along the way. And he probably crashed into four or five other cars, maybe seven cars on the way down through here. And when he got down here, the cars i mean his truck totally flipped over. Reporter deputies believe the man shot and killed himself. His suv then rolled on the highway. The witness most impressed with how one officer handled the situation. What he did was totally heroic. And it s said that way. Reporter we had chopper4 up above 95 northbound a short time ago just within the past hour. Traffic moving slowly, but at least its moving. Getting by what was a very wild scene there for much of today. Meantime, that witness who i spoke with tells me that that officer was a hero cop in his opinion because he was able to block some of those bullets using his own vehicle. You saw how close those bullets got to the Law Enforcement there. Its incredible. Wendy and leon, when you think about that scene that played out and that at the end of it, only the suspect is the one who lost his life. No officers injured, and only one driver suffering minor injuries according to police. Yeah, he was just millimeters away from that bullet, the officer whose bullet went through the head rest. Lucky. Still questions about this and more coverage throughout the hour. Youll find also more on our nbc washington app. Thanks, david. Also breaking tonight, new the murder of a d. C. Police officers daughter. The alleged gunman is 18 years old. But police say he has a long rap sheet and a violent past. Today officers tied him to three murders over the span of four months. Among the victims, joe mari sydnor, she was hit by a stray bullet while she was driving. She died days before she was to start college. News4s Mark Segraves spoke with her mother after the suspect faced a judge. Reporter 18yearold James Mayfield stood before a judge and pled not guilty to the three murders, but prosecutors said there is too much evidence, including eyewitnesses and a gun found on the suspect that was used in at least two of the murders. So, we have a person who has really in a lot of ways terrorized the community. Reporter it began with the murder of 17yearold jamahri sydnor, the daughter of a d. C. Police sergeant. Hes a monster, hes a he had the opportunity to strike yet twice again. Reporter sydnor was an innocent bystander caught in the cross fire. According to police, 18yearold James Mayfield is responsible for a string of Violent Crimes dating back to the august tenth murder of sydnor on saratoga avenue. Then on december 26, a second murder, this time on douglas street. And the very next day, a third murder just blocks away on bryant street and later that same day an armed robbery. Police say mayfield is also a suspect in at least three other armed robberies. So, we most certainly will be looking to see if he was involved in any of the other violent occurrences that have occurred in the city. Reporter mayfield is the third suspect charged in the murder of the 17yearold sydnor. Sydnors mother cried in the courtroom as prosecutors told the judge mayfield had said he shot the 17yearold girl, quote, because she just got in the way. My heart going to absolutely throw up. Doing what shes supposed to do, getting ready for a wedding, take iguoda taking my grandson to get his haircut and she got in the way. How is that . Its awful. Reporter the judge said mayfield is an extreme danger to the community and ordered him held without bond. At d. C. Superior court, Mark Segraves, news4. Now we turn to the scramble as people rush to prepay their property taxes before a new law takes effect. And there is new information coming in as local governments sort through those irs guidelines. If you are eligible to pay early, time is running out. News4s chris gordon has what you need to know. Reporter Montgomery County residents are still lining up to prepay their property taxes. Im hoping, im praying that something might actually, you know, it might contribute to a deduction for 2018. Im not very on tptimistic, buto knows. Given the irs notice prepayment of anticipated real estate taxes that have not been assessed prior to 2018 are not deductible in 2017. In Montgomery County, the 2018 tax assessment will be made in july 2018. I asked if people who prepaid property taxes can get their money back. Any of the checks that have been brought in in person in the last two days have not been deposited yet. Reporter and what about checks that are in the mail . They havent been deposited yet. Reporter and when they arrive, will they be deposited . I will figure that out when the time comes. Reporter Fairfax County collected more than 20 million in prepaid taxes from thousands of residents. They may not get a Tax Deduction because neither Fairfax County nor fairfax city has billed real estate taxes for 2018. The situation is different in the district of columbia where they have already assessed property. D. C. Issued a Statement Today saying there is a basis i taxpayer chooses to prepay real estate taxes by december 31st, 2017, for the taxpayer to claim a deduction on his or her 2017 return. D. C. Residents can pay online, by mail, or at any Wells Fargo Bank branch in the district. Now, alexandria will refund the prepaid tax money it collected. Fairfax county informed us this evening that residents can request a refund by email. Now, Montgomery County says at this point it is not allowed to refund the tax money it has collected, but as you just heard, they havent deposited it yet either. Weve been following all of these developments, including how to go about requesting a refund. And the information is on our nbc washington app. Search property tax. Can you recall any instance where the government says we dont want your money . Right. We have a lot of confusion at the end of the year over the holiday. Accountants say when it comes to paying, defer, defer, delay. Exactly, exactly. Thanks, chris. All right. New details in a crash that sent a mother and five children to the hospital. This scene was the end of a wild crime spree. Police say it started last night when an assault on a child at a house on early autumn drive in centerville. An alleged car jacking followed that and then a serious crash at centerville road and frying pan road in herndon. News4s Darcy Spencer joins us with charges on the driver. Darcy . Reporter well, leon, we got an update on this investigation from Fairfax County police late this afternoon. We now know who the suspect is. We know hes from Prince Georges County. And we know what charges hes facing. But we still dont know the motive of this crime spree. Police say the suspect knocked on a random door here on early autumn drive and hit a child who answered. Then took off in a car that was stolen Prince Georges County. Disturbing for residents who live in this quiet centerville community. It just reminds you that dont take for granted just to open the door thinking that youre safe in the neighborhood that youre used to. Because you never know what can happen. Reporter police say the suspect then car jacked this pickup truck and led police on a chase. This is how it all ended in a violent crash at centerville and frying pan roads, more than 7 miles away. Police say the suspect Brendan Vincent crashed into a van packed with kids, a woman and five children who are in the van are still in the hospital. A 12yearold who was ejected has lifethreatening injuries. Police say vincent assaulted two Police Officers as they tried to arrest him. Vincent is facing numerous charges. As of today we were able to obtain warrants for speed, elude, two accounts of assault on police officer, receiving stolen property. Reporter police say theyre still waiting for results from testing to see if vincent was under the influence of any drugs or hes still in the hospital being treated for injuries from the crash. Police say he continues to be a threat even in the hospital. Now, police are saying he continues to be a threat because earlier today he tried to get out of his handcuffs in his hospital room where he is under police guard. Back to you, wendy. Darcy spencer. Thank you, darcy. Next at 6 00, a state trooper talks about a close call on the road that almost cost him his life. A disoriented, i really dont remember too much of what happened. I dont even remember how i got out of the car. Months later hes back on the job and coming up a closer look at the growing problem and the danger officers face each day 0 on the job. Also the bitter cold in our area and others still digging out from that record snowfall. Back on the job after a brush with death, state records reviewed by news4 show a recent string of crashes in which suspected drunk drivers collided with Maryland State Police. One of those troopers seriously injured in june has returned to the job and hes speaking with our scott macfarlane. Police patrol from the wilson bridge all the way up to route 50. Reporter in his second year as a maryland state trooper, solomon flash has learned to navigate route 4 and the beltway in Prince Georges County. Just hope that june, the other driver was not vigilant he says. The vehicle hit mine in the rear and it sent my vehicle, i guess, in the opposite direction of where everything was. Reporter the other driver was drunk, police say, and crashed into flash seriously injuring him. I was disoriented. I dont really remember too much of what happened. I dont even remember how i got out of the car. Im just glad everybody was able to walk away from that incident. Reporter but there is a deeper problem. Trooper flash isnt the only one. News4 requested Maryland State Police records and found at least eight troopers have been hit by suspected drunk drivers this year, including one trooper who was hit twice. That trooper is charles tidle who recovered and would put over 60 other suspected drunk drivers this year and win a trooper of the year award. Laws aimed at reducing drunk driving, requiring people convicted of drunk driefrming using state Police Administrators hope the new law reduces risk s to trooters in the future. A lot of times it is a repeat offender who is either arrested for d. U. I. Or causes some sort of crash. Mainly four of us working the road. Reporter so many mondlomon resumed his route. Has your outlook changed . No, it has nt changed. Ive always had the same drive to get or try to stop people who were drinking and driving before and after the accident. Reporter an accident is that nearly cost him his career and his life. Scott macfarlane, news4. As for the driver who injured trooper flash, he is a 37yearold from Upper Marlboro and is scheduled to appear in Court January 10th on a series of traffic charges. Right now lets take a live look at times square. 2 Million People are expected to ring in the new year at the countrys biggest party. City leaders want to make sure they are safe so today mayor blasio and the Police Commissioner announced an increased security plan for the ball drop. The move comes even though there are no credible or specific threat. But people will be screened twice as they enter times square. Bomb sniffing dogs will also be on patrol and crews will have closed and sealed the parking garages. The crowds can expect temperatures that night to come close to Single Digits. Youve got to want it. Youve got to want tfrmt got to want it. I did that one year when it was Single Digits. Not fun. Not fun at all. No. Im expecting the wind chill to be below 0 for them. It really is going to be quite brutal. For the rest of us doing our home parties, were watching it on television, hey, were going to be okay. Fabulous. Fabulous inside at 72 degrees. Ill tell you, it is going to be extremely frigid, not just tonight, not just on new years, but really for the next ten days. Ive got temperatures way, way below average. Lets take a look and show you what were dealing without side right now. We have the temperature that has dropped down to 21 degrees at the airport, out of the northwest at 9 miles an hour. So, its not a very strong wind, but even 9 miles an hour gives you a wind chill in the teens. Heres the current temperatures. Were 18 at gaithersburg, 18 in manassas, 22 in fredericksburg. But as i mentioned with that wind, 5 to 10 miles per hour, looks what it brings the wind chill down to d. C. , 12 degrees. 16 is the way it feels in gaithersburg. 10 in baltimore and 11 in manassas. Extremely cold air for sure. That is going to be in place right on through the next couple of days even into all of next week. Now, radar, nothing to show you. We dont have any rain or snow anywhere close. The one storm im watching is way back to the west here. This is a little storm system making its way in through the chicago land area, places like iowa some snow. This is going to come through and bring us some warmer temperatures. Tomorrow there is another one back farther to the west, thats the one that is going to come in on saturday. So, lets show you saturdays storm and well show you whats going to happen. First off tomorrow at 11 00, if youre out and about on friday night, know its going to be cold but dont expect to see any snow. We temperatures in the 20s, the teens. 4 00 a. M. Starting to see snow. 5 00 a. M. , snow mostly area wide. If youre south of d. C. Youre just about out of luck with this storm. Best chance of accumulating snowfall is north of d. C. Accumulating, dusting to an inch. Thats about it. By 8 00 its already out of d. C. , by 10 00, 11 00 its out of here. Its a quick system. Its about the cold air behind the system. Thats why amelia is with me right now tacking more about that cold air moving in for early next year. Yeah, doug, exactly. Over the next few days relatively speaking, the feels like temperatures arent going to be all that bad. Take a look. Walking you through january 2nd here, so, tomorrow and saturday its going to feel like temperatures are in the mid 20s during the afternoon hours and as that system pulls away that doug just showed you on future weather, cold air moves back into the area. This is what it feels like new years eve day. About 10 degr january 1st, just brutal. 10 degrees at best, but for the majority of the day it will feel like temperatures are in the Single Digits. As we look to tuesday, we start to head back to work. Some of us heading back to school. It will feel like temperatures are right around 20 at that point. Heres your hourly planner for new years eve day. 7 00 a. M. , cold and dry, 20 degrees. Youre outrunning errands around lunch time before the parties get underway. 23 degrees at that point. With breezy conditions it feels like temperatures during the evening are in the Single Digits. So, if you plan to be outdoors to ring in the new year, youll want multiple layers and the same thing, doug, goes for january 1st. Where again it is feeling like 0 to 10 degrees out there. Just brutal. Yeah, we wouldnt be surprised to see some areas below 0 overnight into monday night. Monday morning. Yeah, frigid for sure. This is the cold air that just locked in place. Next week snow chances starting to go up. The reason why is we talked about this pattern yesterday. This jet stream moving way off to the south and east, keeping that storm system away from us. Trying to bring that system a little close ers to the coast and that woul