Crash Kills Fairfax Man on I-66
<bt>A 34-year-old City of Fairfax man died early Sunday morning after crashing his SUV on I-66 west, near the Route 28 north exit in Centreville. He was Nathaniel Wayne Eminger of Lyndhurst Drive. Virginia State Police Sgt. Terry Licklider said he'd recently moved here from Indiana.
Eminger was driving a 1999 GMC JIMMY at 3:24 a.m. when, said Licklider, "He ran off the road onto the left shoulder, into the median and the grassy area. He struck the concrete pillar of the bridge atop the Route 28 overpass, head on."
The sergeant said Eminger wasn't wearing a seatbelt. He also noted that "excessive speed" was a factor and skid marks at the scene indicated that Eminger had been driving more than 75 mph. "He was killed instantly," said Licklider
Police don't yet know whether the Fairfax man fell asleep at the wheel, prior to crashing, nor whether he'd been drinking, and the cause of the crash remains under investigation. "There's no indication of any alcohol use," said Licklider. "But we have to wait for the autopsy results to see if alcohol was a factor."
<1b> —Bonnie Hobbs
<sh>Fairfax Man Pleads Guilty to Porn Charges
<bt>Christopher H. Allen, 36, pleaded guilty Tuesday, Nov. 8 to one count of possession of child pornography. According to a U.S. Department of Justice press release, the indictment alleged that among the images stored on Allen's computer were images of a girls soccer team, altered to make it appear as if the minors were engaged in sexually explicit conduct with an adult male. Allen, a Fairfax resident, coached a girls soccer team for 10-year-olds with the Springfield Youth Club.
Allen is in custody until his sentencing in January 2006, when he faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for possession of child pornography. The United States Postal Inspection Service investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Gerald Smagala will prosecute it, said the release.
Anyone with information for police regarding this case should contact U.S. Postal Service Inspector Stephan Lear at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, at 703-837-6317 or 804-640-4584.
<sh>House Fire on University Drive
<bt>An improperly extinguished cigarette started a two-alarm house fire Saturday, Nov. 5 at 12:54 p.m. in the 3500 block of University Drive. According to a City of Fairfax Fire Department press release, firefighters responded to a 911 call from the occupant of the house, after the occupant had tried and failed to extinguish a fire in a basement bedroom.
Battalion Chief Don Barklage arrived first at the single-family house and reported smoke coming from the basement windows. According to the release, Rescue Engine 433 sent a hose into the window to douse the flames, and after several minutes, firefighters called a second alarm for backup. Firefighters brought the fire under control in 28 minutes. No firefighters or occupants were injured, said the release.
After investigating the damage, the City of Fairfax fire marshal determined the fire had been caused by improper disposal of smoking material in the basement bedroom, said the release. Property loss from the incident is estimated at $350,000.
<sh>Clifton Candlelight Tour, Dec. 3
<bt>The annual Clifton Candlelight Tour of Homes, which includes a Caroling on Horseback parade, will be Saturday, Dec. 3, in the historic Town of Clifton. The parade begins at 2 p.m. and is sponsored by the Clifton Horse Society. Local residents decorate their horses in holiday finery and parade through the town singing Christmas carols.
The homes tour is from 4-7:30 p.m. Four homes will be open to the public, as well as three churches and the Clifton caboose. Local choirs will perform in the churches, on the half hour, from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Raffle tickets will be on sale for prizes including dinners at local restaurants and a one-night stay at the Canary Cottage Bed & Breakfast in Clifton.
Tickets are $15, adults; $5, children ages 4-12. Ages 3 and under are free, but strollers are not allowed. Tickets may be purchased in Clifton at Baskets & Boughs, the Clifton Store, Cottage Art, All that Glitters, Noodles & Noggins and the Clifton Coffee Mill. They're also available at the Temptations gift shops in Burke and in the Colonnade Shopping Center at Union Mill.
Co-chairs of the event are Lynne Garvey Wark and Jennifer Chesley. For more information, contact Wark at 703-322-1811 or at lghassoc@erols.com, or Chesley at 703-830-2129.