A driver is facing charges, including involuntary manslaughter, after a woman was killed in a two-vehicle crash Wednesday morning in Loudoun County, Virginia, the sheriff’s office said.
Martin V. Chavez, 56, of Sterling, Virginia, has also been charged with driving while intoxicated.
According to the sheriff’s office, the crash happened around 8:20 a.m. Wednesday in the area of Route 50/John Mosby Highway, near South Riding Boulevard.
A sedan with five people inside was stopped at a red light when a driver in a pickup truck, identified as Chavez, slammed into the car from behind.
One of the sedan’s passengers, 78-year-old Rashida Begum, of South Riding, Virginia, died at the scene.
Two from the sedan were taken to a hospital with critical injuries; two others from the same car were also taken to the hospital, but with injuries that were not life-threatening.
Chavez had a passenger in his truck who was taken to the hospital with injuries that were serious, but not life-threatening, the sheriff’s office said.
The crash is still under investigation. Anyone who witnessed the crash who hasn’t already spoken to the sheriff’s office can call Investigator D. Lake at (703) 777-1021.
Chavez is being held without bond at the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center.
Parts of eastbound Route 50 and South Riding Boulevard were closed for several hours, reopening just before 1 p.m.
Below is a map of the area where the crash happened.
Editor’s note: Earlier information from the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office misstated Rashida Begum’s age. Police have now issued a correction.
