DATE: Sunday, April 6, 1997                 TAG: 9704070450

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B7   EDITION: FINAL 

                                            LENGTH:   71 lines

HAMPTON ROADS

CHESAPEAKE

Minivan didn't slow in fatal accident, state police say

State police said an accident that claimed one man's life when he was trapped in a burning car Friday occurred when a minivan failed to slow in time for traffic stopped in front of it.

The 27-year-old victim, Bruce W. Grover of Fayettville, N.C., a first class petty officer stationed at Norfolk Naval Base, was pinned in his car after the three-vehicle wreck and was unable to get out before flames swept through the car.

Witnesses said police and others tried to reach the man, but were forced back by the flames.

The accident happened about 1 p.m. on eastbound Interstate 64 at the I-464 interchange, state police said.

Traffic had stopped when a minivan operated by Maximo Carbonell, 34, of Virginia Beach, hit the rear of a Ford Mustang.

The minivan ``apparently did not slow for traffic . . . that was stopped,'' said Tammy Van Dame, a state police spokeswoman.

The impact pushed the Mustang into a truck in front of it, ``catching the Mustang on fire.'' Within moments, the car ``became fully engulfed'' in flames.

All three drivers were wearing seat belts, Van Dame said.

No charges have been filed, but the investigation is continuing, state police said.

Carbonell remained in Chesapeake General Hospital on Saturday with non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the truck, James Nowland, 24, of Virginia Beach, and Carbonell's three children were treated at area hospitals and released Friday night.

VIRGINIA BEACH

Officer braves heavy smoke to rescue unconscious man

Authorities are crediting a police officer with saving the life of a man whom he found unconscious in a burning house.

Early Thursday morning, while on routine patrol, Officer J.M. Bertini saw smoke and flames coming from the Holland area of the city. At 1:22 a.m., he called for assistance and located a burning house in the 1200 block of Gladiola Court.

``Upon arrival, Officer Bertini found large volumes of smoke coming from the house and, at great personal risk, entered the house and began a search for occupants,'' a police spokesman said.

Bertini searched a living room and hallway, using a flashlight to see what he was doing. But as flames suddenly came out of the kitchen, he realized he had to get out.

Bertini took one more look in the living room and this time spotted Vernon Thompson, 42, unconscious on the floor. He dragged the man from the burning structure.

Once in fresh air, Thompson regained consciousness and refused medical assistance, officials said. Bertini was taken to Virginia Beach General Hospital, where he was treated for smoke inhalation and released.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

NORFOLK

Engineering college at ODU selects new dean

William Swart, a dean of the College of Engineering at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, has been named dean of Old Dominion University's College of Engineering and Technology. He will start on July 1.

At the institute, he is leading the effort to revise the engineering curriculum. Swart has been a professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering. Before that, he was corporate vice president of management information systems for Burger King Corp.

He succeeds Ernest ``Jim'' Cross, who will coordinate business development partnerships for the university. KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT TRAFFIC FATALITY FIRES

RESCUES

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