An Alexandria paramedic from Bristow died Thursday, a day after falling from Interstate 395 into a creek while responding to a vehicle fire.
Joshua Weissman, 33, fell into Four Mile Creek below the highway and was flown by helicopter to Washington Hospital Center, where family and fellow firefighters were by his side when he died, department officials said.
Weissman was on a crew responding to a vehicle fire, one of two incidents on the interstate near the Alexandra-Arlington line, around 6:25 p.m.
The first involved a three-vehicle crash in the HOV lanes. A short time later, state police received another call for a vehicle fire in the HOV lanes, which was opened to southbound traffic at the time, Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said.
An Alexandria ambulance parked on I-395 northbound, alongside the HOV lanes, to reach the burning vehicle.
According to Geller, there is a three-foot gap between two cement barriers separating the lanes. Geller said Weissman was climbing over one barrier to get to the HOV lanes when he fell about 30 feet into the creek. He suffered severe head injuries in the fall.
Alexandria fire officials say Weissman had been with the department for six years.
A prayer service was held earlier Thursday for Weissman, who leaves behind his wife, Rebecca.
During a press conference Thursday evening, Alexandria Fire Chief Adam Thiel called Weissman "committed, dedicated, professional to the end."
Click here for audio from the scene.
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