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Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Traffic deaths double statewide over holiday weekend
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FFX News
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Date: July 08, 2011 10:23AM
Traffic deaths double statewide over holiday weekend
Burke woman one of 13 recorded fatalities
by Gregg MacDonald, Staff Writer More News
http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/article/20110708/NEWS/707089728/traffic-deaths-double-statewide-over-holiday-weekend&template=fairfaxTimes
In a reversal called alarming by Virginia State Police, statewide traffic deaths during the Fourth of July holiday weekend more than doubled compared with the weekend last year.
According to the state police, six people died statewide in 2010 during the four-day holiday weekend. This year, 13 people, including a Burke woman, were killed in 11 traffic crashes during the same four-day period.
Of those 11 fatal crashes, at least four were alcohol-related and at least five of the crash victims were not wearing seat belts, police said.
“To see traffic deaths spike so significantly from one year to the next, with alcohol and a lack of seat belt usage as common factors, is extremely alarming,” said Colonel W. Steven Flaherty, Virginia State Police Superintendent.
The 13 fatalities reversed a three-year trend of declining deaths during the same reporting period. In addition to the six deaths last year, in 2009, nine people were killed, and in 2008 there were 10 fatalities.
One of this year’s 13 deaths occurred in Fairfax County.
Hossein Ghaffari-Nik, 27, of Burke was driving a 2009 Mitsubishi Eclipse southbound on Shirley Gate Road near Mattie Moore Court shortly before 4 a.m. Monday, Fairfax County police said. His 21-year-old sister, Sara Ghaffari-Nik, was a passenger in the back seat.
Police said the Eclipse struck a curb and Hossein lost control.
The Mitsubishi went off the roadway to the right and struck a large tree, according to county police. The impact caused the vehicle to spin and rotate onto the driver’s side. The Mitsubishi then struck a second large tree before coming to rest.
Police said Sara was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Hossein Ghaffari-Nik was arrested and charged with DWI and manslaughter.
VSP officials said the remaining 10 fatal crashes occurred in the counties of Accomack, Albemarle, Alleghany, Campbell, Chesterfield, Henrico and Prince Edward and the City of Portsmouth. Alleghany and Henrico counties had two separate fatal crashes. The Albemarle County crash claimed the life of a Crozet man who was riding a motorcycle, police said.
“The tragedies experienced this past holiday weekend should be a wake-up call to all Virginians,” Flaherty said.
Burke woman one of 13 recorded fatalities
by Gregg MacDonald, Staff Writer More News
http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/article/20110708/NEWS/707089728/traffic-deaths-double-statewide-over-holiday-weekend&template=fairfaxTimes
In a reversal called alarming by Virginia State Police, statewide traffic deaths during the Fourth of July holiday weekend more than doubled compared with the weekend last year.
According to the state police, six people died statewide in 2010 during the four-day holiday weekend. This year, 13 people, including a Burke woman, were killed in 11 traffic crashes during the same four-day period.
Of those 11 fatal crashes, at least four were alcohol-related and at least five of the crash victims were not wearing seat belts, police said.
“To see traffic deaths spike so significantly from one year to the next, with alcohol and a lack of seat belt usage as common factors, is extremely alarming,” said Colonel W. Steven Flaherty, Virginia State Police Superintendent.
The 13 fatalities reversed a three-year trend of declining deaths during the same reporting period. In addition to the six deaths last year, in 2009, nine people were killed, and in 2008 there were 10 fatalities.
One of this year’s 13 deaths occurred in Fairfax County.
Hossein Ghaffari-Nik, 27, of Burke was driving a 2009 Mitsubishi Eclipse southbound on Shirley Gate Road near Mattie Moore Court shortly before 4 a.m. Monday, Fairfax County police said. His 21-year-old sister, Sara Ghaffari-Nik, was a passenger in the back seat.
Police said the Eclipse struck a curb and Hossein lost control.
The Mitsubishi went off the roadway to the right and struck a large tree, according to county police. The impact caused the vehicle to spin and rotate onto the driver’s side. The Mitsubishi then struck a second large tree before coming to rest.
Police said Sara was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Hossein Ghaffari-Nik was arrested and charged with DWI and manslaughter.
VSP officials said the remaining 10 fatal crashes occurred in the counties of Accomack, Albemarle, Alleghany, Campbell, Chesterfield, Henrico and Prince Edward and the City of Portsmouth. Alleghany and Henrico counties had two separate fatal crashes. The Albemarle County crash claimed the life of a Crozet man who was riding a motorcycle, police said.
“The tragedies experienced this past holiday weekend should be a wake-up call to all Virginians,” Flaherty said.