A man convicted for a crash that killed two teen girls walking home from school in Fairfax County, Virginia, in 2022 was sentenced Friday to four years in prison.
Usman Shahid, who was 18 at the time of the crash, was sentenced to two years for each of two counts of involuntary manslaughter. Once he is released, he’s set to be under post-release supervision for three years.
The victims were Oakton High School students Leeyan Hanjia Yan, who was 15, and Ada Gabriela Martinez Nolasco, who was 14.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said he hopes the sentence can bring some peace to their families.
“While there is nothing that can heal the broken hearts of Ada and Leeyan’s families, friends, and loved ones, I hope that this outcome can help our community finally begin to close what has been an incredibly painful chapter,” he said in a statement.
Shahid was found guilty in April and the jury recommended a four-year sentence.
He initially faced up to 10 years in prison for the deaths that devastated the Oakton High School community. In a sentencing argument, the prosecutor told jurors the victims' families were not seeking the maximum punishment.
In court on Friday, the mother of one of the girls who was killed tearfully read a statement about her and her husband’s heartbreak. She said the sentence is too light.
“Even though two years have passed, every night as I lie in bed, tears stream down my face. I still dream of the horrific scenes, and when I wake up, the pain in my heart is unbearable,” she said.
“This jury’s verdict feels like a slap in the face. Two years per one life lost. How light is the value of a human life? Where is the dignity for my daughter and her friend?” she continued.
Shahid’s attorney asked for leniency and the driver himself apologized to the victims’ families.
“I made a very, very immature decision. I’m deeply sorry, and I’ve been deeply reflecting on my wrongful actions,” he said.
'I think I killed three girls'
Prosecutors have said that just days after Shahid's high school graduation, he was driving a BMW and accelerated to 81 mph in a 35 mph zone on Blake Lane just before noon on June 7, 2022.
It was near the end of the school year, and classes had ended early. Shahid saw that a traffic light was yellow, floored it and slammed into a Toyota 4Runner whose driver had been turning left, prosecutors said.
Police testified that the force of the crash sent Shahid’s BMW off the road and onto the sidewalk, where he hit three teen girls.
Shahid, who had three friends in the car and was driving on a learner’s permit, then plowed through a mailbox, utility box and power pole.
One passenger testified that in the moments after the crash, Shahid said, “I think I killed three girls.”
Two of the crash victims died of their injuries, and the third was seriously hurt.
A resident of the area described a heartbreaking scene after the crash, with a woman performing CPR on one victim. He said Shahid was worried about how his father would react to the crash.
15-year-old Leeyan Hanjia Yan was among the Oakton crash victims
Yan, who was killed in the crash, was her parents’ only child.
Yan’s mother described her as a bright social butterfly who brought her friends together and excelled in Bible school. She was funny, full of faith and looking forward to college.
"I recall the moments she was laughing loudly with her friends on the phone and then I ... scolded her to be quiet. We never knew it was her last moment," her mother said in a victim impact statement.
Her mother struggled to describe the pain of losing her daughter.
“Any word could not describe that sorrow. The tortured agony took a color away from our vision. All objects in the world looked white and black,” she said.
'You hurt me forever, along with so many in this courtroom'
At a hearing this spring, the parents of the girls who died described their incredible loss, and the surviving victim, now 17, offered equally heartbreaking testimony. She lost her cousin and her best friend.
“I hold so much love for them, an indescribable love," she said through tears and sobs.
The survivor was hospitalized with serious injuries when her mother gave her the news that the other girls had died.
“I will never forget the cries I let out that night,” she told jurors. “It felt like someone had punched me and I repeatedly told her, "No, no, no!' We were supposed to graduate together. We were supposed to live our lives together.”
The survivor later turned and spoke directly to Shahid, telling him: “You, Usman Shahid, went 81 miles per hour. You did not hit the brakes. You chose to be irresponsible. You took two lives. You hurt me forever along with so many in this courtroom."
“Because of you, we will remain in unending pain for the rest of our lives," she told him.
The testimony from the surviving victim and her family was so emotional that Shahid’s mother collapsed and had to be taken to a hospital.
Shahid took the witness stand.
"I beg for your forgiveness, your mercy, and hopefully you see me as a good person and not such an evil or bad person at all," he said.
Defense tried to shift blame to another driver after teens were killed in Oakton crash
Shahid’s defense attorney argued that Shahid was an inexperienced driver and tried to shift blame to the driver of the Toyota 4Runner. That driver testified that he was stationary and trying to make a left turn when Shahid’s car crashed into his with incredible force.
In court, the SUV driver tearfully described what happened.
"I was waiting for the tail end of the group coming through … I felt, like, a slam. It was a train-like collision I’ve never experienced before … My initial thought was it was a bad movie … I was in shock," he testified.
The defense also faulted a detective, accusing her of tunnel vision with her investigation, and asked why she did not record an interview with the SUV driver.
A nationally known crash expert testified in support of the prosecution and said the BMW’s sophisticated data recorder showed that Shahid accelerated form 60 to 81 mph and never hit the brakes.
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In closing arguments, prosecutor Jenna Sands told the jury only one person was responsible for the crash: Shahid.
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
