U.S. counter-spy chief cuffs driver who rammed restaurant

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Maybe only in the Washington area could you find the U.S. counterintelligence chief handcuffing a suspect after his lunch is interrupted by a car ramming into his restaurant and bursting into flames.

National Counterintelligence Executive Bill Evanina was eating in the Silver Diner in McLean, Virginia, on Wednesday when a Hummer crashed into the building and caught fire, said a U.S. intelligence official, who described the incident on condition of anonymity.

A video posted to YouTube shows a suited Evanina and his two luncheon companions dragging the driver away from the Hummer.

The man is flipped over and Evanina, a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent, kneels on his back and handcuffs him as sirens wail and flames leap from the car.

The intelligence official said on Thursday that Evanina’s two companions were a former FBI agent and an ex-CIA officer.

A spokesman for Evanina had no comment. FBI Director James Comey called Evanina to congratulate him, a source familiar with the matter said.

Fairfax County police said four people were injured, including the driver. A police spokeswoman said the man was in the hospital and no charges had been filed.

A spokesman for Silver Diner said in a statement the driver was a former employee. McLean, the site of the incident, is home to the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters.

As the National Counterintelligence Executive, Evanina is the head of counterintelligence for the U.S. government and chief counterintelligence adviser to the director of National Intelligence.

(This version of the story corrects reference to Evanina as former agent in paragraph 4)

(Reporting by John Walcott, Ian Simpson and Mark Hosenball; Editing by Sandra Maler)