NORFOLK -- State police are trained to deal with deadly crash scenes. But the wreckage on I-264 Wednesday afternoon was disturbing even to veterans.
"It was a particularly gruesome crash scene," said Sgt. Michelle Cotten of the VA State Police. "It was a lot of fire, a lot of burned flesh."
Police say 29-year-old Montreal Fuller was driving eastbound on the HOV lanes of I-64 around 1:30 Wednesday afternoon. When he exited onto I-264, instead of merging onto the eastbound lanes, he drove the wrong way through several VDOT barriers and into on-coming traffic, according to police.
Fuller's BMW slammed into a Ford Taurus and both cars burst into flames.
"It was a fatal accident, a head on collision, they died on impact," said Cotten.
Police have not released the driver of the Taurus' name.
Investigators are trying to figure out what caused Fuller to drive the wrong way on the interstate.
13News discovered Fuller has several criminal convictions and traffic violations on his record. They include conspiracy to distribute cocaine, trespassing, and impeding traffic.
Wednesday's crash is the latest in a string of deadly crashes.
During the long Christmas weekend, 10 people were killed in car crashes in Virginia. That's higher than 2008, when 6 people were killed.
One of the victims was 17-year-old Jarin Simms of Newport News.
His family and friends held a candlelight vigil at Menchville High School Wednesday night to remember the teen. Simms died after colliding head-on with another car Sunday morning.
"He'll always be loved. Nobody will ever forget about him," said his best friend Michael Allen. "It's a message to everybody just to wear your seatbelt."
State police hope drivers will take that advice, especially with New Year's Eve approaching.
"So many of these accidents are caused by speed, inattention, and distracted drivers," said Cotten. "People are just being careless and driving fast and not paying attention."
