Springfield Man Arrested in Richmond For Fatal Crash

6:02 PM, Feb 22, 2012   |    comments
Varinder Chahal of Springfield, Va. charged with driving under the influence, refusal to submit to a blood or breath test and felony manslaughter in Richmond
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RICHMOND, Va. (WUSA) -- Richmond police charged a man from Springfield with driving under the influence in connection with a fatal crash Wednesday morning.

Varinder Chahal has been charged with driving under the influence, refusal to submit to a blood or breath test and felony manslaughter, according to police.

Police say at approximately 12:37 a.m. Wednesday, an officer saw a crash at the intersection of 2nd and Canal streets. A crash team later determined that 23-year-old Varinder Chahal of Springfield ran a red light in his 2004 Mazda 6 while traveling westbound on Canal Street. His car then t-boned a 2007 Toyota Yaris headed northbound on 2nd Street. The Yaris spun around and struck a building.

According to police, 19-year-old Carolina Perez of Virginia Beach, who was in the back seat of the Yaris was taken to VCU Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. She died a few hours later.

The driver of the Yaris and a front seat passenger were also taken to the medical center with non-life-threatening injuries.

The four passengers in Chahal's vehicle were not injured.