A man has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the July 2023 crash that killed 17-year-old Rebekah Zarco, of Burke, Virginia, according to Fairfax County prosecutors.
Jose Zelaya, 44, was driving 87 mph in a 40 mph zone on July 18, 2023, in the crash that killed Zarco, who was driving her younger brother and two close friends. Zarco’s sibling and the two friends were injured, but survived.
Zelaya was traveling westbound on Burke Centre Parkway in a Cadillac XTS4 sedan when he crashed into Zarco’s Kia Forte. Zarco, a graduate of James W. Robinson, Jr. Secondary School, had been turning left from a shopping area onto Burke Centre Parkway.
In a proffer, Fairfax County prosecutors said if the case had gone to trial, witnesses would have testified Zelaya appeared to be racing the car next to him on Burke Centre Parkway. The car’s air bag crash module, akin to the black box of a plane, showed Zelaya’s car was driving 87 mph — at nearly full throttle — right before the crash.
When interviewed by police, according to the proffer, Zelaya said he was traveling approximately 50 mph, and that the victim “jumped out at me” when it was too late for him to stop.
Zelaya faces between one and six years in prison, according to Laura Birnbaum, spokeswoman for Fairfax County State’s Attorney’s Office.
His sentencing is scheduled for March 12. Birnbaum said lawyers will argue for what they believe is an appropriate sentence during the hearing.
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