The Fairfax County, Virginia, man in a speeding BMW who plowed into two teen girls walking home from school in June 2022 has been sentenced to four years in prison following emotionally wrenching victim impact statements in court Friday.
Usman Shahid, who was 18 at the time of the crash, was convicted of two counts of involuntary manslaughter in April in the deaths of 14-year-old Ada Gabriela Martinez Nolasco and 15-year-old Leeyan Hanjia Yan, both students at Oakton High School. A third girl was wounded in the crash.
A four-year sentence was recommended by the jury after Shahid’s conviction, but the sentence still had to be finalized by a Fairfax County Circuit Court judge.
Mother speaks: ‘Tears streaming down my face’
The final sentence handed down Friday came after family members shared their grief in victim impact statements.
Yan’s mother, in a voice raspy with emotion, called her daughter her “greatest masterpiece,” who, on the day of the crash, had gotten permission to eat at a nearby IHOP to celebrate the end of the school year.
In a tragic irony, she said she and her husband bought their house near Oakton High School so their daughter could walk to school.
“Every night when I lie in bed, I have tears streaming down my face,” the mother said. “When I wake up, the pain in my heart is unbearable.”
She said she hasn’t seen remorse from Shahid, an Oakton High School graduate. During her statement, she tried to show the judge printouts from his TikTok account, but the judge placed them under seal.
Convicted driver takes ‘full responsibility’
Shortly before the judge delivered the sentence, Shahid stood up and told the judge he took “full responsibility” for his actions, saying he put the community in danger.
Defense attorney Peter Greenspan told the judge that Shahid had no criminal record and worked multiple jobs.
“He did something an 18-year-old with an ego would do, which was to show off a new used car he got a few days before,” Greenspan said. “He has been punished and continues to be punished. He’s going to carry this with him for the rest of his life.”
The crash happened at Blake Lane and Five Oaks Road, not far from Oakton High School, shortly before noon on June 7, 2022.
Prosecutors said Shahid was driving more than double the speed limit — accelerating from 60 mph to 81 mph in a 35 mph zone — when he collided with an SUV that was trying to make a left turn onto Five Oaks Road. Shahid’s vehicle then careened onto the sidewalk, striking and killing the girls and injuring a third student as all three were walking home from school, according to prosecutors.
Victims’ family facing ‘hell on earth,’ lawyer says
Under the law, the judge was not allowed to give Shahid a longer sentence than the four years recommended by the jury — but he could have given him a shorter sentence. The judge did not do so, and also added an additional three years of supervised release after Shahid serves his prison sentence.
Demetry Pikrallidas, who represents one of the girls who was killed and the one who survived, said the families respected the jury’s recommended sentence of four years, but wished it had been longer.
“Is there ever enough time? … We feel it could have been stronger, but we understand that he (Shahid) also had done some decent things in his life that had to be measured,” Pikrallidas told reporters outside the courthouse Friday afternoon. “So there’s no doubt it was a difficult decision for the jury.”
The girl who survived is doing “as well as can be expected, and she’s trying to pick up the pieces and move on with her life,” the lawyer said.
Pikrallidas said the family intends to pursue a lawsuit, but declined to provide specifics.
The aftermath for the victims and their family members has been “catastrophic,” he added.
“There’s no escaping it. There’s nowhere you can go, there’s nowhere you can hide, there’s no one you can talk to, there’s no medicine you can take,” he said. “It’s hell on earth … that’s what they’re living with.”
The fatal crash led to a slew of safety improvements along Blake Lane.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
