Wrong-way driver going from ICU to regular room; jail next

By Larry Hartstein

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The wrong-way driver accused of killing another motorist on  I-85 Sunday morning will be transferred from Grady Memorial Hospital's intensive care unit to a regular room Monday, police said.

When he is able, Manuel Rivera, 26, will then be moved to the DeKalb County Jail.

Rivera is charged with vehicular homicide, DUI, reckless driving and driving the wrong way in the 5 a.m. accident, which killed 26-year-old Steven Naraine of Atlanta.

According to investigators, Rivera entered the interstate in his BMW at Shallowford Road -- heading north in the southbound lanes. Less than a quarter-mile later, the BMW collided with a Lexus in the center lane driven by Naraine, police said.

Naraine's car was then hit by two more vehicles before coming to rest in the right lane. Naraine was pronounced dead at the scene.

The drivers of the other two cars were evaluated at local hospitals and released.

The crash shut down all southbound lanes for more than two hours.

On Feb. 14, a wrong-way driver caused a four-car wreck on the same stretch of I-85, between Shallowford and Chamblee Tucker roads. In that case, police say, Franklin Alvarez Hernandez, 27, drove south in the northbound HOV lane. Nine people were injured, at least four seriously. Alvarez was charged with DUI, reckless driving, driving without a license and driving the wrong way.