Police: Drunken driver kills nun, injures two others

Update - 9:45 a.m. Monday: Carlos A. Martinelly Montano, 23, remains hospitalized with injuries that do not appear to be life-threatening. Police say he will be transported to the Prince William-Manassas regional jail once he is discharged. Police said they don't yet know Martinelly's immigration status, but it is under investigation.

BRISTOW, Va. -- A 23-year-old Bristow man has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and drunken driving after a Sunday morning crash claimed the life of one nun and seriously injured two others.

Sister Jeanette Marie Mosier, 66, of the Benedictine Sisters Monastery at 9535 Linton Hall Road in Bristow was pronounced dead at the scene.

Sister Charlotte Lange, a former principal at St. Gertrude’s High School, and Sister Connie Lupton were flown to INOVA Fairfax Hospital.

The wreck happened on Bristow Road near Wright Lane. Police said a 1997 Subaru Outback traveling south on Bristow Road swerved off the road, hit a guardrail on the right then crossed into the northbound lane, where it struck a jersey wall and slammed head on into a northbound 2003 Toyota Corolla.

Mosier, who was in the back seat of the Corolla, was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said their preliminary investigation showed she was not wearing a seatbelt, but the crash investigation is in its early stages.

The 75-year-old nun driving and the front seat passenger suffered “severe injuries,” said Prince William County police spokesman Jonathan Perok. Their conditions were unknown Sunday night.

Police charged the Subaru driver, Carlos A. Martinelly Montano of 12760 Merrymont Lane in Bristow, with involuntary manslaughter, drunken driving as a third offense in five years and felony driving on a revoked license, Perok said.

Sister Andrea Verchuck, a subprioress at the monastery, said all three nuns lived in Richmond. They were associated with Linton Hall School in Bristow, which is operated by the Benedictine Sisters Monastery, and also associated with St. Gertrude’s in Richmond.

Verchuck told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that the nuns were making their way to the monastery’s annual five-day retreat, which begins today, when they were hit by the oncoming car.

“Everyone’s in a state of shock,” Sister Andrea said Sunday night, adding that the community has responded with an outpouring of love and support.

Lange was a student at St. Gertrude’s and later served as its principal from 1985 until her retirement in 2005. She went on to the Northern Virginia monastery after her retirement.

Communities editor Kari Pugh can be reached at 703-530-3901. Holly Prestidge of Media General News Service contributed to this report.