He was a good friend, went to a track events together, worked on cars together, and best of all we both admired cars.
Wrong-Way Driver Dies in Beltway Crash
By Carol Morello
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, June 3, 2002; Page B03
A Falls Church man was killed early yesterday when the car he was driving in the wrong direction on Interstate 495 near Tysons Corner crashed head-on into a vehicle driven by an Alexandria woman, Virginia State Police reported. Other motorists rescued the woman from her burning car.
Michael Antonio Chavarria, 20, who lived on Tyler Avenue in the Falls Church area, died after being trapped in his car, which burst into flames upon collision, said Lucy Caldwell, a state police spokeswoman.
She said Patricia Quintez Cuestas, 30, who was pulled from her Nissan Pathfinder as it was engulfed by flames, suffered broken bones and facial injuries and was taken to Inova Fairfax Hospital. She was listed in fair condition yesterday.
Caldwell said police were alerted to the wrong-way driver by a witness who called authorities at 2:26 a.m. and reported that a car heading south in the outer loop near the Interstate 66 junction had struck a guardrail, spun around and, in apparent confusion, proceeded north on I-495 in the southbound lanes.
One of the tires on the car, a 1995 Acura driven by Chavarria, had burst on impact with the guardrail and was shredded down to the rim, Caldwell said. Though effectively driving on only three tires, she said, Chavarria is believed to have sped as fast as 80 mph as he continued driving the wrong way.
Only two minutes after the initial report of a driver striking the guardrail, a second witness notified state police of the collision just north of Route 7.
Caldwell said it appears that both drivers attempted to veer out of the way at the last second but turned the same direction and into each other's paths. Both drivers were alone in their vehicles.
Chavarria's family told police he had attended a party earlier in the evening. Caldwell said police have not determined whether alcohol was a factor.
The outer loop was closed for about three hours after the crash.
Wrong-Way Driver Dies in Beltway Crash
By Carol Morello
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, June 3, 2002; Page B03
A Falls Church man was killed early yesterday when the car he was driving in the wrong direction on Interstate 495 near Tysons Corner crashed head-on into a vehicle driven by an Alexandria woman, Virginia State Police reported. Other motorists rescued the woman from her burning car.
Michael Antonio Chavarria, 20, who lived on Tyler Avenue in the Falls Church area, died after being trapped in his car, which burst into flames upon collision, said Lucy Caldwell, a state police spokeswoman.
She said Patricia Quintez Cuestas, 30, who was pulled from her Nissan Pathfinder as it was engulfed by flames, suffered broken bones and facial injuries and was taken to Inova Fairfax Hospital. She was listed in fair condition yesterday.
Caldwell said police were alerted to the wrong-way driver by a witness who called authorities at 2:26 a.m. and reported that a car heading south in the outer loop near the Interstate 66 junction had struck a guardrail, spun around and, in apparent confusion, proceeded north on I-495 in the southbound lanes.
One of the tires on the car, a 1995 Acura driven by Chavarria, had burst on impact with the guardrail and was shredded down to the rim, Caldwell said. Though effectively driving on only three tires, she said, Chavarria is believed to have sped as fast as 80 mph as he continued driving the wrong way.
Only two minutes after the initial report of a driver striking the guardrail, a second witness notified state police of the collision just north of Route 7.
Caldwell said it appears that both drivers attempted to veer out of the way at the last second but turned the same direction and into each other's paths. Both drivers were alone in their vehicles.
Chavarria's family told police he had attended a party earlier in the evening. Caldwell said police have not determined whether alcohol was a factor.
The outer loop was closed for about three hours after the crash.
