Driver Sentenced In Crash That Killed 2 Oakton HS Students

FAIRFAX, VA — Usman Shahid — the driver convicted of killing Oakton High School students Ada Gabriela Martinez Nolasco, 14, and Leeyan Hanjia Yan, 15, in a June 2022 car crash — was sentenced to four years in prison Friday in Fairfax County Circuit Court.

The jury that convicted Shahid for Nolasco and Yan's deaths in April recommended a sentence of four years in prison. Jurors could have recommended up to 10 years in prison for each involuntary manslaughter charge and instead recommended just two years for each charge.

Judge Randy Bellows could not impose a sentence beyond what the jury recommended. On Friday, he affirmed the four-year sentence of active incarceration, adding 3 years of post-release supervision.

“This case has been on my mind, day and night, for more than two years,” Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano said, in a release. “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.”

Related: Driver Sentenced In Crash That Killed 2 Oakton High School Students

Fairfax County Police say that Shahid, 20, was driving a BMW with two passengers on June 7, 2022, when it collided with a Toyota 4Runner driven by Ben Phan. The BMW then went over the curb, struck a fence and three pedestrians, before coming to a stop only after striking a mailbox, utility box, and power pole.

Nolasco's cousin, who was severely injured in the crash, told the court in April that she couldn't remember the crash. All she could recall was that the three students were excited to walk home since school was over for the summer. The next thing the then 14-year-old remembered was waking up in the hospital. She did not learn her cousin and best friend had died until two days later.

"I felt like someone had punched me," she said. "We were supposed to graduate together, live our lives together. … And now those dreams are gone, taken away by Usman Shahid."

Speaking through an interpreter, Mariele Martinez told the jury she was at work when she learned her daughter, Ada, had been in an accident.

At the hospital, Mariele Martinez couldn't believe her daughter had died. The realization came when police asked her to identify Gabriela's belongings.

"All the dreams I had for her were gone," she said. "My dreams were gone. She was my first child. I couldn't believe it was my daughter. I couldn't believe that my daughter had died. I begged God to tell me this was a bad dream. It was the worst pain that a mother can have in the whole world."

Shahid, who police say was driving a BMW at 81 miles per hour southbound on Blake Lane just before the crash, only had a learner's permit at the time of the fatal crash. Virginia law requires that drivers must be 21 or older, or 18-years-old and accompanied by a legal guardian or sibling when they're driving. At the time of the crash, Shahid was 18 and a resident of Fairfax County.

Neither of the two passengers in the BMW were related to Shahid. He was charged on two manslaughter charges in connection with the crash.