GW Parkway Crash Over 100 Mph With Serious Injury Leads To Conviction

FORT HUNT, VA — An Alexandria man was convicted Wednesday in relation to an April crash on the George Washington Memorial Parkway that caused a motorcyclist to lose a leg.

According to prosecutors, Menyelek Maynard, 26, was driving over 100 mph when he struck the back of a motorcycle on the parkway south of Fort Hunt on April 8, 2022. The impact ejected the motorcyclist more than 30 feet through the air.

The crash caused the motorcyclist to lose his left leg above the knee, have steel rods inserted in both arms and back, and lose feeling in his left arm and side. Prosecutors say the motorcyclist's life was saved by the quick response of Fairfax County Fire and Rescue and other drivers who stopped to help. One of those who helped was a military medical professional who put a tourniquet on the victim's limb and protected his cervical spine until medics arrived, according to a U.S. Park Police officer's affidavit.

Maynard's vehicle rolled over multiple times, narrowly missed pedestrians on a footpath and ended upside down in the Potomac River, prosecutors say. Witnesses helped him out of the vehicle, and he was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

An analysis found the vehicle had been traveling at 110 mph when it collided with the motorcycle. The speed limit in that area is 45 mph.

Maynard was found guilty by the jury on charges of assault resulting in serious bodily injury, reckless driving and speeding. Maynard will be sentenced on Jan. 24, 2023 and faces up to 10 years in prison.