Marriott executive, 47, remembered

Ely, a vice president, died in accident on I-270

Friday, March 10, 2006

Douglas M. Ely, a vice president at Marriott International, died last week on his way to his Bethesda office after a tractor-trailer overturned on a Capital Beltway overpass, dumping wooden fencing onto his car on Interstate 270 below. He was 47.

Ely, who was also assistant general counsel for Marriott, was driving north March 2 on Interstate 270 near Democracy Boulevard in Bethesda, when wooden fence sections from the tractor-trailer fell onto the roof of his 1998 BMW 328, Maryland State Police officials said. The impact caused Ely to lose control of his car, which was struck on the driver’s side by the driver of a Nissan Altima, police said.

Ely was pronounced dead at the scene by a forensic examiner.

The driver of the Nissan, Gloria Y. Weigand of Centreville, Va., was flown by helicopter to Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, police said.

The driver of the overturned 2005 Kenworth tractor-trailer, Francois Veilleux, 23, of Quebec, was not hurt, police said. He was charged with negligent driving and violating the 11-hour and 14-hour rules that govern how long truckers can stay behind the wheel, police said. Each violation carries a $280 fine.

Veilleux was westbound on the Beltway in the right lane when his truck drifted from the lane, and he ‘‘apparently overcompensated” when he tried to return to the lane, police said. He lost control of the truck, which struck a concrete barrier and overturned, police said. Traffic was backed up for miles, and it took almost seven hours for the roadway to be cleared.

The accident especially hit home for the thousands of Marriott staff members who commute to the Bethesda offices, said Violeta Seidell, an employee who lives in Potomac.

‘‘Doug Ely was traveling a route everyone at work takes,” she said. ‘‘A lot of people said, ‘That could have been me [except] I took a different route today,’ or ‘I was running five minutes later than usual so I missed that situation.’”

Ely lived in northwest Washington, D.C., with his wife, Sarah, and two children, Alexander and Julia. He joined Marriott in 1996 as senior counsel in the development group and was promoted to vice president and assistant general counsel in 1999, company spokesman Thomas Marder said.

‘‘Douglas was a much respected and loved member of the Marriott International family,” Marriott officials said in a statement. ‘‘We will remember Douglas for his absolute professionalism, dedication to his craft, and most importantly, as a wonderful man.”

Services were Monday at St. Columbia’s Episcopal Church in Washington.

Ely was born in Malaysia and earned an architecture degree from Princeton University and a law degree from Columbia University.

He was a great-grandson of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Harlan Fiske Stone, who held the top court’s highest position from 1941 until he died in 1946, according to published reports. Marder said he could not confirm that, and a family member could not be reached.

Memorial donations may be sent to St. Stephens School of Rome, 15 Gramercy Park South, New York, N.Y. 10003.

Staff Writers Stephanie Siegel and Peggy Vaughn contributed to this report.