Usman Shahid guilty of two counts of involuntary manslaughter for striking and killing two teenage pedestrians.
On Wednesday, April 24, a Fairfax County jury found Usman Shahid guilty of two counts of involuntary manslaughter for striking and killing two teenage pedestrians on the sidewalk, Ada Gabriela Martinez Nolasco, 14, and Leeyan Hanjia Yan, 15, on June 7, 2022.
Shadid was 18 years old when the car he was driving crashed into the girls, and just days after he graduated from Oakton High School. Nearly two years later, on Friday, April 26, two days after his guilty conviction, jurors recommended that Shahid serve up to four years total for the two deaths. Shahid could have received up to 20 years, as the felony carries a maximum of 10 years in prison for each count.
Judge Randy I. Bellows, a circuit court judge for Fairfax County's 19th Judicial Circuit, ordered Shahid's immediate jailing on Wednesday after his conviction, despite his attorney's objections to the guilty verdict.
“This is one of the most tragic cases in Fairfax County’s history,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said on Friday, April 26. “My heart breaks for the families, friends, and loved ones of these young girls. While there is nothing that can make up for such an immense loss, I hope that this conviction can help our community finally begin to heal from this tragedy.”
The crash occurred at approximately 11:45 a.m. on June 7, 2022 at the intersection of Blake Lane and Five Oaks Roads, south of Oakton High School, shortly after an early school dismissal.
According to a June 23, 2022, press release from Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano, when he announced the indictment of Shadid on manslaughter charges, three pedestrians, Oakton High School friends, had just crossed the intersection and were on the sidewalk nearby at the time of the crash which killed Nolasco and Yan and badly injured the third girl.
Prosecutors in Shahid's 2024 involuntary manslaughter case say Shadid did not have a driver's license and was on his learner's permit while driving the white BMW. He reportedly had three friends in the car with him.
In a news release, Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano said that Shadid, heading south on Blake Lane at speeds well over the 35 mph speed limit, collided with an SUV (a Toyota Four-Runner) that was trying to turn left onto Five Oaks Road.
"Shahid’s vehicle then careened onto the sidewalk, striking and killing the two Oakton High School students and injuring a third as the girls walked home from school,” Descano wrote.
Prosecutors demonstrated during the trial that Shahid's high speed and lack of evasive action were significant factors that led to both the initial crash and the pedestrian collision, resulting in the deaths of Yan and Nolasco.
A crash expert testified that Shahid's vehicle contained a data recorder, which indicates that Shahid continued to accelerate from 60 mph to 81 mph in the five seconds he approached the intersection before the crash. The data recorder also indicated that Shahid did not attempt to apply the brakes.
Shahid's defense attorney, Peter Greenspun, said that the other SUV driver on Blake Lane was to blame for the crash and that driver received full immunity in exchange for testimony in this case. Shahid saw that the traffic light had turned yellow, accelerated, and collided with the SUV, whose driver was turning left. The SUV driver testified that he had stopped on the road to let the girls cross when the BMW hit him.
A judge will finalize the sentence later this year. The judge has the power to lessen the sentence but cannot increase it.