Oakton High School student 16-year-old Christopher Kearns died Saturday evening when the car in which he was riding struck a parked car on the 3200 block of Miller Heights Road in Oakton just before 8 p.m.
According to police reports, the driver, a 17-year-old male who has not been identified, was taken to Inova Fairfax Hospital where he was treated for non-life threatening injuries and was then charged with driving while intoxicated. Police said speed was also a factor.
An investigation concluded that the car, a Saturn Ion, was traveling south on Miller Heights when the driver lost control of the vehicle, drove off the road and hit a parked Toyota Land Cruiser. Kearns was pronounced dead at the scene.
Fairfax County police spokesperson Jacqi Smith said police are not releasing the car's estimated speed or the driver's blood-alcohol level because an investigation is ongoing. An additional charge of involuntary manslaughter, she said, is "definitely an option." Smith said the investigation could take several weeks.
At the regional field hockey tournament at Oakton High School last night, the school's director of student activities, Phil Levine, remarked, "Right now, our kids are banding together, and it's going to be a rough couple of weeks. We all have to help each other get through this ... but a positive is that the kids can learn from this experience."
A moment of silence was observed before the tournament began.
A funeral will be held for Kearns this Thursday, Nov. 2 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Leo the Great Catholic Church, 3700 Old Lee Highway, Fairfax. Interment will follow at Fairfax Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Oakton High School lacrosse team.
— Mike DiCicco and BJ Koubaroulis