Potential charges against youths in deadly Germantown crash remain murky

It may be months before the youths involved in a deadly Germantown crash face criminal charges, and legal experts say some may face no charges at all.

Seven people ages 12 to 15 were in an allegedly stolen car involved in a crash Aug. 4 that led to the death of a Virginia man. But because of their ages and the nature of the investigation, experts tell The Banner that prosecutors will have trouble determining which charges, if any, to bring against them and whether any of them are responsible for the man’s death.

It’s unlikely, given the facts released publicly, that any will be charged as adults under state law. The driver involved was a 13-year-old boy, police said, and state law says that a 13-year-old cannot be charged as an adult.

William Payne II, a mechanical engineer at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg and father of five, was killed in the crash. The incident sparked outrage and garnered national headlines.

Experts told The Banner that the case will be difficult for prosecutors because potential charges could vary based on the ages of those involved and what each of them did and knew before the deadly crash.

In Maryland, some children can be charged as adults for serious crimes, including first-degree murder, rape, carjacking, kidnapping, armed robbery and certain gun and drug offenses. Auto theft is not a charge that would be elevated to adult court. Neither is vehicular manslaughter, which is the general charge in a crash that leads to death, said Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger.

A teen 14 or older is automatically charged as an adult for some crimes, while other crimes may lead to a transfer to adult court based on a prosecutor’s petition and a review by a judge, Shellenberger said.

Shellenberger said he does not have the facts of the case because it’s not his jurisdiction. Generally speaking, he said, when people under 18 are in a stolen car that crashes and someone dies, prosecutors would have to prove culpability for each of them.

For example, if one of them stole the car, prosecutors would have to prove that “the other kids in the car knew the car was stolen” to charge the others with car theft, Shellenberger said. “You have to prove knowledge, and if you can’t do that, they might not be charged with anything.”

Complicating matters, the Montgomery County Department of Police’s Collision Reconstruction Unit, which investigates fatal crashes, could take months to determine the facts of the case.

Charging teens as adults

Payne, 58, of Berryville, Virginia, was driving a Toyota Matrix on his way to work when it was struck by a Kia Optima that held seven youths — four girls ages 14, 14, 13 and 12, and three boys ages 15, 13 and 12.

The crash occurred at about 5:30 a.m. near Great Seneca Highway and Clopper Road. Payne was declared dead at the scene. Photos of the incident show two mangled cars, one of which was overturned in bushes.

While all the young people involved were taken to trauma centers, two were initially in critical condition, according to police and the county’s fire department.

Josh Rovner, senior research analyst at The Sentencing Project, a research and advocacy think tank based in Washington, D.C., said Maryland ranks second per capita in how often people under 18 are automatically charged as adults, behind only Alabama.

That list does not include four states that automatically charge 17-year-olds as adults, even for low-level offenses: Texas, Georgia, Louisiana and Wisconsin.

Rovner said there is a misperception that juvenile courts do not handle serious crimes.

“Young people are tried and convicted in the juvenile system, and incarcerated for a very long time,” he said.

In 2025, about 13,000 people under 18 in Maryland went through the juvenile courts. Of those cases, about 2,000 involved violent offenses.

The vast majority of cases involving children in Maryland that begin in adult court are eventually sent back to the juvenile court, Rovner said.

‘Lethal decision’

Payne lived with his wife, Lisa, and young children — two girls and a boy — in a town of fewer than 5,000 people close to the West Virginia border. He also had two adult daughters.

The mechanical engineer specialized in heat pumps and air conditioning systems, had Alabama roots, and was deeply devoted to his family and his Baptist church, according to his obituary.

“His faith was central to the way he lived,” the obituary said. “He loved the Lord, studied His word, and sought to show God’s love in everything he did. For all that Vance accomplished, nothing brought him greater joy than his family and five children.”

Attempts to reach Payne’s family for comment were unsuccessful.

Payne’s sister, Angela Klinkhammer, told NBC4 Washington that the children involved in the crash made a “lethal decision” that can’t be taken back.

“They were up to no good. And they did something wrong, which resulted in the death of a someone. So you can’t bring Vance back, no matter what,” she said. “It was a lethal decision that they made.”