Crime & Safety

13-Year-Old Driver Accused Of Killing VA Man In MD Rollover Crash

The man killed in Tuesday's rollover crash in Germantown was a 58-year-old Virginia man, police said. The driver of the stolen car was 13.

Officials identified the Virginia man killed in Tuesday's rollover crash in Germantown as William Vance Payne II.
Officials identified the Virginia man killed in Tuesday's rollover crash in Germantown as William Vance Payne II. (Courtesy Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service)

GERMANTOWN, MD — William Vance Payne II, a 58-year-old man from Virginia, was identified Wednesday as the man killed in the fatal rollover crash in Germantown.

Montgomery County Police said Payne was driving a 2007 Toyota Matrix along Clopper Road on Tuesday when he was fatally hit by a stolen 2015 Kia Optima driven by a 13-year-old boy.

Authorities said the Kia was occupied by seven children, including three boys aged 12, 13, and 15. Of the four girls, two were 14 years old, while the other two were 12 and 13.

Find out what's happening in Germantownfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Related: Deadly MD Crash Involved Stolen Vehicle Driven By Child

Payne was pronounced dead at the scene, and the 13-year-old Kia driver remains in critical but stable condition, according to police. The other children were hospitalized for varying injuries.

Find out what's happening in Germantownfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Payne's wife told the Winchester Star that her husband had been on his way to work at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg. Payne was from Berryville, in Virginia's Clarke County.

He worked as a mechanical engineer for NIST. A GoFundMe campaign has been started to support the family.

No charges have been announced in the case.

The department said any charges would be "at the discretion of the Montgomery County State's Attorney’s Office after the evidence is presented to them."

What Happened Tuesday?

The crash took place around 5:30 a.m. Tuesday near the intersection of Clopper Road and Great Seneca Highway.

The fatal crash occurred as the 13-year-old driver crossed into the intersection from the northbound lanes of Great Seneca Highway, striking Payne on the eastbound lanes of Clopper Road.

The two-car rollover crash took place near the intersection of Clopper Road and Great Seneca Highway. (Courtesy Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service)

Photos from the scene showed the force of the crash sent both cars toward the entrance of the Fountain Hills community. Dozens of first responders worked the scene to free occupants and extinguish flames from the overturned Kia.

Preliminary findings in the case indicate the Kia had been reported stolen from a Germantown residence "several hours" after the collision took place.

Officials have said it may take "several weeks to months" to complete their investigation.

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