Pleading guilty Monday in court to driving so recklessly that he crashed his car and killed his best friend, the Centreville teen offered his first apology to the parents of the young Reston victim.
"The reason Chris is gone and I'm still here is because of my driving," he said. "There's not a day that goes by that I don't think of that. I feel so sorry, I can't even use that word anymore — it needs something greater."
The judge then sentenced the teen — a senior at Westfield High — to 10 days in jail and 100 hours community service. Since he was still a minor when the tragedy occurred — just four days shy of his 18th birthday — he appeared in Fairfax County's Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. Also for that reason, Centre View is withholding his name.
He and the victim, Chris Nedelcovych, 17, of Reston, had been friends since their freshman year at Paul VI High, transferring to Westfield last year as juniors. Both were high-level, competitive soccer players in Olympic-development programs.
They also worked together at the same after-school job and were northbound on the Fairfax County Parkway, in connection with it, Nov. 14, around 8:30 p.m. The Centreville boy was at the wheel of his 1991 Mazda RX7, with Nedelcovych as his passenger.
They were near Reservation Drive and Huntsman Boulevard in Springfield when the driver lost control, slid into the median and struck a Pontiac driven by a 24-year-old Centreville resident. The collision sent the Mazda airborne, and it landed on the roof of a Honda van driven by a 29-year-old Lorton woman.
In court Monday, Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Penny Azcarate presented further details of the crash to Judge Charles Maxfield. "Witnesses would testify that, just prior to the accident, the defendant had flashed his lights and was zigzagging through traffic, driving 75 in a 55-mph zone," she said. "He had a slower car in front of him, so he passed a vehicle on the right and lost control of his car."
The Mazda smashed head-on into the Pontiac, flipped over in the air and landed on the roof of the Honda — which contained three people. Nedelcovych was Medevaced to Inova Fairfax Hospital, but had sustained fatal injuries to his liver and died on the operating table, two hours later.
"Speed was a serious factor in this case," said Azcarate. "An inexperienced driver was driving a sports car." She then argued for not only a rehabilitative sentence, but something punitive, as well. "Chris died that night as a result of this defendant's actions, and he has to take responsibility for it," she said. "The speeding caused this tragedy to happen."
The victim's mother, Sally Nedelcovych, then stood and addressed the court. Acknowledging that both boys were good friends and "loved each other very much," she said she harbored no hatred in her heart toward the Centreville boy, but had a "need for justice." Emphasizing that parents must be responsible for the type of car they buy their children, she said that, just days before the accident, the boy showed off his new car to her son.
"I was horrified," she said, noting that she and her husband had given Chris a "safe car," a Jeep Cherokee, to drive. Said Nedelcovych: "I couldn't understand why parents would buy a young, inexperienced driver that type of car."
Crying, she told the Centreville teen of her heartbreak. "[Chris] is not going to graduate — I don't have to tell you the obvious," she said. "My firstborn son — you know and he knows that, but for the grace of God, it could have been you. Students at Westfield and Paul VI should be told that an irresponsible act resulted in a horrible tragedy."
Chris' father, Mima Nedelcovych, told the judge that he wants "whatever can be done to prevent this from happening again in the future." Then defense attorney Peter Greenspun spoke on behalf of his client, describing him as a good student and stellar athlete, respected at his school and already accepted at four colleges.
As for the Mazda, he stressed that it was an older model, not some "new, get-out-there kind of sports car." Said Greenspun: "In this day and age, with these speeds and that type of traffic, any vehicle is an at-risk vehicle. The real issue here is what good can come out of this. High-school kids see themselves as Teflon-coated, for the most part; what's most important to them is what their friends think of them."
He said teens eager to drive "think they have the ability and the instincts, long before they do." He then asked the judge to allow his client to go to the swearings-in of newly licensed drivers, to driver-improvement classes and to high-school driver's ed classes and speak about what happened and the dangers of speeding.
Calling his client a "feeling, caring person," Greenspun said his words would have a great impact on young drivers and might well save someone's life. The boy then spoke to his deceased friend's parents.
"I know it's my fault, and I take full responsibility," he said. "I've learned a great deal since then. I loved Chris like a brother. There's an emptiness inside because he's not here, and I'm sure you feel the same way, too."
Then it was Judge Maxfield's turn, and he explained the difficulty fashioning a sentence in cases like this one. "On the one hand, you can see 10 students do this same type of driving behavior on a daily basis," he said. "On the other hand, we can't ignore that it's a crime with a fatality."
He then sentenced the driver to 100 hours community service, speaking to teen drivers as Greenspun had suggested. He said the boy could "audition," April 24, at Fairfax High, speaking at a new drivers' ceremony. If his speech seems effective, said Maxfield, he'll give the boy two hours credit for each speech he gives.
The judge also suspended the boy's driver's license for six months and placed him on a year's probation. "And for the purpose of sending a message to everyone at Westfield High, I'm sentencing you to 60 days jail, suspending 50 days," said Maxfield. "You can begin it June 14 at 6 p.m. — the day after graduation — so everyone at Westfield who's looking forward to graduation will know that you're going off to jail."
Greenspun asked if he could serve his sentence on weekends only. But Azcarate wanted him to do straight time "for the punishment aspect," and the judge agreed. Said Maxfield: "For his benefit in the long run — and his indelible memories — it's the best message I can send."
Afterward, Chris' father said that, when the boy's mother delivers him to jail, "that's when his parents will realize the full weight of what he did." Chris' mother said reckless driving should be punished as a crime because "unless you feel the pain, you don't learn the lesson."
Greenspun said his client's a "terrific kid who will suffer the consequences forever of his own conduct." He said the lesson to be learned is that, "Once you make a driving mistake that's careless and foolish, you can't go back and change what you've done."