Beltway Paving in Montgomery; Firefighter Accused of Soliciting Sex; Fatal D.C. Blast Tied to Gas Leak

Metro Official to Answer Queries Online

As part of the ongoing effort to improve communication with riders, Metro's chief safety officer will answer questions during an online chat Friday. Alexa Dupigny-Samuels will take questions about the Red Line accident and investigation from noon to 1 p.m. Friday at http://www.wmata.com/onlinechat.cfm.

-- James Hohmann

PUBLIC SAFETY

Firefighter Is Accused of Soliciting Sex

A longtime Montgomery County firefighter faces a preliminary court hearing next week on charges that he solicited sex from a woman he thought was a 16-year-old whom he had met through Craigslist, according to police allegations filed in Montgomery County District Court.

Lt. Wayne A. Mothershead, 44, a veteran of more than 20 years, has been placed on administrative leave with pay, a county fire services spokesman said Thursday.

On July 17, according to Montgomery police, Mothershead used his county e-mail address to initiate contact, unwittingly beginning back-and-forth communication with two undercover officers, police said. One of them referred Mothershead to a MySpace page, "which reflected that the female was 16 years old," and wrote to Mothershead that "if your [sic] okay with my age hit me back."

Mothershead's attorney, Rebecca Nitkin, said she believes there is insufficient evidence to prove the charges, and she said Mothershead has "saved countless lives" in 22 years of public service. "He can hold his head high, as he has nothing to be ashamed of," Nitkin said.

According to police, a female officer called the number supplied by Mothershead, who indicated that he wanted to meet immediately. "He indicated that he would pay $150 for services," another officer, D.J. Fitzgerald, wrote in a charging document.

On July 20, Mothershead pulled into the Holbrook Shopping Center in Gaithersburg for what he thought would be an encounter, but instead he was arrested, according to Fitzgerald's statement.

-- Dan Morse

Pedestrian, 47, Is Struck, Killed by Car

A 47-year-old man was fatally struck by a car as he walked across a Bethesda intersection Thursday afternoon, Montgomery County police said.

Authorities said Duane Dean Fandrey of the 3300 block of Quesada Street in Northwest Washington was struck by a Honda Civic at River Road and Wilson Lane about 4:30 p.m. He was taken to Suburban Hospital, where he died.

-- Clarence Williams