Northern Virginia has seen two fatalities in the past two weeks as the result of street racing. Charles Wade Borland, 23, of Manassas, was killed Sunday night shortly after 9:15 p.m. when his vehicle, which was traveling south on Sudley Road near Coverstone Drive, was struck by an out of control 2004 Volkswagen Jetta, said Officer John Bogert with Prince William County Police.
The Jetta’s driver, Stacey Nicole Kauffman, 19, of Manassas, was racing Corry Eugene Welch, 19, of Leesburg, who was driving a 1991 Acura Integra, Bogert said.
The racing vehicles bumped into each other, sending Kauffman’s vehicle across the grass median strip, police report. She struck and pole before striking Borland’s vehicle. The passenger in Borland’s vehicle was flown to a local hospital with serious injuries, but is expected to survive, Bogert said.
Both Kauffman and Welch were charged with racing resulting in a fatality, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Kauffman also received a drunken driving charge.
“It will probably be a 30-year penalty if we have anything to do about it, but I can’t speak for the court,” said Paul Ebert, Prince William’s commonwealth’s attorney, who is considering seeking an additional 10-year charge of manslaughter.
Michael Garcia, 23, of Alexandria, was killed around 10 p.m. on Sept. 12 after he and another driver, Bryan Flores, 18, of Alexandria, were racing. Garcia was killed when his 2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse ran off the road and struck a tree, according to Fairfax County police.
Despite the recent incidents, there is no rash of street racing, say representatives of both Prince William and Fairfax county police.
“It is a danger. It creates a hazard on the roadway and people get killed. Not to mention having your license is a privilege. Obviously, partaking in acts like that can cause you to lose your license,” said Officer Shelley Broderick, a Fairfax County police spokeswoman.
Racing or speeding was a contributing factor in 30 percent of all fatal crashes in 2005, killing more than 13,000 people, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. There were nearly 150,000 fatal crashes from 1998 to 2001, and 315 involved street racing, according to NHTSA statistics. In those 315 crashes, 399 fatalities occurred — 299 of those people were either the driver or the passenger.
