HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- A Montpelier family is finally getting a sense of closure, nearly a year after losing their loved one in a multi-vehicle car crash on I-95 in Henrico County.
On Monday, October 16, a Henrico County judge found Luis Javier Quinones guilty of driving while intoxicated in the early morning hours of October 30, 2022, crashing his vehicle, which subsequently caused a domino effect of crashes within minutes.
"Thank God now he's getting some kind of sentence so that he realizes that this is the end of getting away with hurting others," said Donna Wenzel.
Her 26-year-old daughter, Claire, was killed in a head-on collision as part of that multi-vehicle crash. Multiple people were injured.
Prosecutor Eli DeJarnette said Quinones was traveling north on I-95 after 2 a.m. in a white Jeep when he hit a guardrail, causing the car to come back into the roadway facing southbound.
An oncoming car had to veer out of the way and was then hit by a third car.
Within a matter of minutes, there was a chain reaction of crashes involving at least seven cars, with one car hitting Quinones while he was in the roadway, close to his vehicle.
According to records from VCU Medical, Quinones' blood-alcohol content level was around .10 to .12, over the legal limit.
The prosecution brought forth several witnesses, including three drivers who were involved in the chain reaction crashes that followed Quinones' initial crash.
One driver said she saw Quinones by his vehicle and had a brief conversation with him, recounting that he said he'd "lost a tire" and that his phone was "dead," though they could not see a missing tire, and at the time of the conversation, Quinones was holding his cell phone, using it as a flashlight, indicating it was not dead.
Quiniones' attorney maintained Quinones was leaving a child's birthday party around 2 a.m., had not drank alcohol, but left because he wasn't feeling well, and could remember talking to a DJ at the party and then getting into his vehicle.
A Virginia State Trooper who was called to the scene of the crash said during his testimony: "The whole scene smelt of alcohol."
Quinones was sentenced to 12 months of jail time with six months suspended, over the span of 24 months on good behavior. Quinones' license was also suspended for 12 months, and he must be active in the Alcohol Safety Action Program.
"A little faith was renewed today," said Claire Wenzel's sister, Katie Wenzel. "Kind of a weight off my shoulders knowing that this nightmare is finally over, in this respect, and now I hope to be able to focus more on remembering Claire and the person she was and what she means to me, or meant to me, and find ways to celebrate her life and not just remember her, and think about her, in respect to the man who took her life."
The Wenzel family did push for tougher charges.
"When there is a loss of life, either at the hands of another or by means of some other use of force, like a vehicle, normally the idea is that someone should be accountable for that loss of life. However, when operating under what the law of Virginia has to offer, there are some circumstances when there is not a direct cause and effect, that the law will not permit someone to be held accountable for that loss of life," said Henrico County Commonwealth Attorney Shannon Taylor.
"While myself and others, we try to go to the General Assembly to try to advocate for changes in the law so that we can hold more people accountable when one has lost a life, we haven't gotten there yet."
The Wenzel family has filed a civil lawsuit against Quinones for $2.175 million and is working to keep Claire's legacy alive by pushing for policy change.
“We need to hold bars and restaurants accountable for serving. We also need to increase the penalties for first-time drunk drivers," said Donna Wenzel. "It shouldn’t be just 12 months, 12 months suspended, a slap on the wrist, and people should realize the seriousness of their actions. When they drink and drive and get behind the wheel of a car, they could be taking someone else’s life.”
Taylor said one of the drivers involved in the multi-vehicle crash reportedly fell asleep at the wheel. It is unclear what their involvement may have been in Wenzel's death, but Taylor said she and her team are currently investigating and may prosecute.
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