Driver Charged in Fatal Fairfax County Crash

A Herndon man responsible for a fatal crash on the Fairfax County Parkway Saturday morning has been formally charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Manuel Jimenez Benitez, 24, was arraigned in court Tuesday morning, appearing via video conference from a Fairfax County jail. He was released from Inova Fairfax Hospital Monday and is being held without bond.

Benitez was driving his SUV "at an excessive speed" around 2 a.m. Saturday morning when he crossed into the northbound lanes and collided with a taxi cab. Both passengers -- Norbert Sebok, 29, and Jozsef Szathmari, 24, of Sterling -- were pronounced dead at the scene while the cab driver was transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Police say neither Sebok nor Szathmari was wearing a seat belt.

Both Sebok and Szathmari had recently moved to Virginia from Hungary and were in the process of obtaining work visas. 

Benitez will next appear in court on August 13.

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