Brazilian Athlete Who Died Last Week To Get Police Escort

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The Fairfax County Police Department announced Tuesday that police officers from throughout the region will provide an escort to Dulles Airport for a Brazilian policeman who died last week during the World Police & Fire Games.

Carlos Silva, 48, died Thursday evening of injuries he suffered in a collision during a bicycle race that afternoon in Prince William Forest Park, off Interstate 95 near Triangle. Two other cyclists were seriously injured.

On Wednesday morning, a group of police officers from Fairfax County and neighboring jurisdictions “will honorably escort Investigator Carlos Silva and his family to Dulles International Airport for his final flight home to Brazil,” the department said in a statement.

The other officers will come from Alexandria, Arlington County, Fairfax City, Prince William County and the Virginia State Police.

An honor guard will await Silva’s arrival at the airport. “The community is welcome to join public safety personnel along the escort route to express their support for Investigator Silva and the other injured athletes still recovering from the tragic cycling crash of Thursday, July 2,” the Fairfax County Police Department said in the statement.

“We ask the motoring public for their patience and understanding as the escort may cause brief traffic disruptions along the way.”

The police escort is scheduled to depart at about 10 a.m. Wednesday from Metropolitan Funeral Service at 5517 Vine St. in Alexandria. It will travel on South Van Dorn Street to I-95 south, then on to the northbound HOT lanes of the Beltway (I-495), to the westbound lanes of the Dulles Access Road (Route 267) out to the airport.