13-year-old's crash in stolen car that killed father in Maryland puts spotlight on juvenile justice
Loved ones are mourning a father of five who died while on his way to work at the National Institute of Standards and Technology after police said he was struck by a stolen Kia driven by a 13-year-old boy.
The case is drawing attention to youth crime and the juvenile justice system, raising questions about how young offenders are held accountable.
What happened?
The stolen Kia sedan sat on its roof after the deadly collision in Germantown around 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday, August 4.
The violent impact killed William Vance Payne II, 58, a father of five, who was on his way to work. His widow said their children wonder why their dad is never coming home.
Police said the person behind the wheel of the stolen car was just 13 years old. He was one of seven children inside the white Kia Optima.
"The occupants of the vehicle were not of age to be driving," said Shiera Goff, with the Montgomery County Police Department.
Those inside the stolen sedan included four girls ages 14, 14, 13 and 12 and two other boys, ages 15 and 12. No adults were present.
They were all taken to the hospital after the crash.
"[The driver] could be charged with auto theft, vehicular manslaughter, those types of charges, but all would be in the juvenile court with no ability to have him in adult court because he is 13," said Mark Anderson, a former Montgomery County prosecutor who is currently a criminal defense attorney.
Police said the Montgomery County State's Attorney would make a decision about what potential charges are appropriate.
The Kia's owner discovered the vehicle was missing and reported it stolen hours after the deadly crash, according to police.
The incident raises alarms for Republican Baltimore County Delegate Kathy Szeliga, a critic of the state's juvenile justice system.
"What is going to happen to these juveniles?" Szeliga asked in a video posted to X. "A 13-year-old, stolen car, every one of the kids in this car 15 and under—Maryland's juvenile laws are dangerous."
Juveniles and stolen cars
Other recent cases involving children and stolen vehicles include a violent encounter in Baltimore City in February.
In that incident, police body-worn camera video shows a stolen Kia with three 14-year-olds inside slamming into an officer on West Lombard Street.
The officer fired his weapon during the incident. The juveniles were taken into custody.
At the time, police said there were two 14-year-old boys inside the vehicle. They were on electronic monitoring after they had previously been charged with auto theft and robbery.
The boys were transported to juvenile booking.
A 14-year-old girl was behind the wheel of the stolen Kia, BPD said. She was charged with aggravated assault and stolen auto and placed on electronic monitoring within the juvenile system.
Last year, a 16-year-old driving a stolen Hyundai, also filled with other teens, slammed into a car in Jessup, in Howard County.
The crash killed 69-year-old Bonnie Fuller Griffith.
Court records show the teen driver was sentenced as an adult and received three years in prison earlier this year.
Carjacking case reveals cracks in system
Last week, WJZ Investigates covered the sentencing of Darius Wolfe, who was 19 when he carjacked 87-year-old grandmother Edna Smith and her 66-year-old daughter Valarie Smith in Pikesville. He was sentenced to 95 years behind bars.
Prosecutors detailed Wolfe's troubled juvenile history, which they said escalated from a handgun violation to armed robbery—and included 29 separate placements within the Department of Juvenile Services.
Wolfe's lawyer told WJZ her client suffered from PTSD after he was shot in the head and his brothers were murdered in Park Heights—all when he was just 14. She said he never got the mental health treatment he needed within DJS.
"Their intentions are in the right place, but when you have kids who grow up in the kind of violence that's going on in the streets now, it takes a lot more sustained programming and overseeing," said public defender Donna D'Alessio.
She said there must be more consistent care.
"When they're in detention, which is a lot of that time, they're not getting the mental health treatment. I think they should, but they're not getting it," D'Alessio said. "…There should've been more done."
She felt the 95-year sentence for her client was too harsh.
"I don't think that a long sentence as a form of deterrence really works," D'Alessio told WJZ.
