A 23-year-old Chantilly woman was killed, early Saturday morning, when an SUV traveling the wrong way on I-66 — and without any lights on — crashed head-on into the car in which she was riding. The victim was Rawand Manuel Hirezi of the Chantilly Estates community.
The tragedy occurred April 1, at 2:11 a.m., on westbound I-66, just 8/10 of a mile east of I-495. According to the Virginia State Police, Hootan Moeirzadeh, 27, of the Buckley's Reserve community in Fairfax, was driving a 2006 Honda Civic west on I-66 in the left lane. Hirezi was sitting in the front passenger seat.
At the same time, Christina Maria Peeble, 29, of Front Royal was driving a 1994 Ford Explorer, with her brother William, 26, in the right-front passenger seat. The trouble was, police say Peeble was headed east on I-66 in the westbound lanes and slammed the SUV directly into the Honda in the left lane.
Police say Hirezi died at the scene; the only person wearing a seatbelt was Moeirzadeh. Both occupants of the SUV, as well as Moeirzadeh, were all transported to Inova Fairfax Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
Trooper F.A. Richens is the investigating officer, and the state police Accident Reconstruction Team is assisting with the ongoing investigation into this incident. Police say charges are pending the results of lab tests on both drivers for alcohol and drugs.
<tgl> — Bonnie Hobbs