MD Man Facing Charges After Wrong-Way Crash Kills VA Mother, Daughter

Updated at 8:21 p.m.

BETHESDA, MD — Jose Caballero Nolasco, a 32-year-old man from Germantown, remained held without bond Monday after appearing in court over the fatal head-on crash over the weekend.

Nolasco is facing multiple charges for a wrong-way highway crash that killed a mother and daughter from Virginia.

The fatal crash took place Saturday around 6:45 p.m. near the Interstate 270 Spur, south of Democracy Boulevard. Officials said the incident closed the area to traffic for approximately five hours.

Citing preliminary findings, the Maryland State Police said Sunday that Nolasco crashed his Ford Mustang into a Toyota Camry as he was driving northbound in the southbound lanes of I-270.

Nolasco, state police said, hit the vehicle head-on and fatally injured Musammat Shamima Begum, 46, and Areebah Jahin, 23, of Burke and Alexandria, Virginia.

The 62-year-old man driving the Toyota was hospitalized along with an 8-year-old girl. Officials have not detailed the extent of their injuries.

State police said Nolasco, who was the sole occupant in the Ford, was hospitalized but has since been transported to the Montgomery County Detention Center in Rockville.

Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy told NBC Washington that Nolasco had admitted to drinking before the collision. The outlet reported that officers had found open beer cans inside the Ford and that Nolasco had bloodshot eyes and was slurring his words when talking to officers.

Authorities earlier said in a release that impairment may have been a contributing factor in the crash.

Nolasco is facing five charges, including:

• Two counts of gross negligent manslaughter
• Two counts of homicide by motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol
• One count of life-threatening injury by motor vehicle

An investigation into the crash is ongoing.