A jury recommended a total of four years in prison for the 20-year-old man convicted in a crash that killed two teenage girls walking home from school in Fairfax County, Virginia.
Usman Shahid, who was 18 at the time of the crash, was found guilty Wednesday of two counts of involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of the Oakton High School students.
Shahid faced up to 10 years in prison for each of the two charges. But in her sentencing argument Thursday, the prosecutor told jurors the victims' families were in agreement that they weren't seeking the maximum punishment. However, they did want him to get some jail time — as she put it, "Somewhere in the middle."
Ultimately, the jury recommended far less than that maximum, at two years for each count of involuntary manslaughter.
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The jury handed down its recommendation Friday. The judge will make the final sentencing decision in the months ahead, and has the power to lessen the sentence, but not increase it.
'We are beginning to get justice'
Victims' family members burst into tears Wednesday as the verdict came down, while Shahid showed little emotion.
“I feel like I can finally breathe again. We are beginning to get justice,” the mother of one victim told News4 partner Telemundo 44 in Spanish.
The judge ordered Shahid to be jailed immediately, over his attorney’s objections.
Prosecutors have said Shahid was driving a BMW and accelerated to 81 mph in a 35 mph zone on Blake Lane just before noon on June 7, 2022. It was near the end of the school year, and classes had ended early. Shahid saw that a traffic light was yellow, floored it and slammed into a Toyota 4Runner whose driver had been turning left, prosecutors said.
Police testified that the force of the crash sent Shahid’s BMW off the road and onto the sidewalk, where he hit three teen girls.
Shahid, who had three friends in the car and was driving on a learner’s permit, then plowed through a mailbox, utility box and power pole.
One passenger testified that in the moments after the crash, Shahid said, “I think I killed three girls.”
Two of the crash victims died of their injuries, and the third was seriously hurt.
A resident of the area described a heartbreaking scene after the crash, with a woman performing CPR on one victim. He said Shahid was worried about how his father would react to the crash.
15-year-old Leeyan Yan was among the Oakton crash victims
Leeyan Yan was one of the two girls killed. She was 15 and her parents’ only child.
Yan’s mother described her as a bright social butterfly who brought her friends together and excelled in Bible school. She was funny, full of faith and looking forward to college.
"I recall the moments she was laughing loudly with her friends on the phone and then I ... scolded her to be quiet. We never knew it was her last moment," her mother said in a victim impact statement.
Her mother struggled to describe the pain of losing her daughter.
“Any word could not describe that sorrow. The tortured agony took a color away from our vision. All objects in the world looked white and black,” she said.
'You hurt me forever, along with so many in this courtroom'
A sentencing hearing was held Thursday, but jurors ended up needing another day to make their decision before handing it down.
During Thursday's hearing, the parents of the girls who died described their incredible loss, and the surviving victim, now 17, offered equally heartbreaking testimony. She lost her cousin and her best friend.
“I hold so much love for them, an indescribable love," she said through tears and sobs.
She was hospitalized with serious injuries when her mother gave her the news that the other girls were dead.
“I will never forget the cries I let out that night,” she told jurors. “It felt like someone had punched me and I repeatedly told her, "No, no, no.' We were supposed to graduate together; we were supposed to live our lives together.”
The girl later turned and spoke directly to Shahid, telling him: “You, Usman Shadid, went 81 miles per hour. You did not hit the brakes. You chose to be irresponsible. You took two lives. You hurt me forever along with so many in this courtroom."
“Because of you, we will remain in unending pain for the rest of our lives," she told him.
The testimony from the surviving victim and her family was so emotional that Shahid’s mother collapsed and had to be taken to a hospital.
The defendant’s family and several dozen of his friends were in the courtroom Thursday to support him as he took the witness stand, telling the families it was his irresponsible actions that brought them such deep sorrow and loss.
"I beg for your forgiveness, your mercy and hopefully you see me as a good person and not such an evil or bad person at all," he said.
Defense tried to shift blame to another driver after teens were killed in Oakton crash
Shahid’s defense attorney argued that Shahid was an inexperienced driver and tried to shift blame to the driver of the Toyota 4Runner. That driver testified that he was stationary and trying to make a left turn when Shahid’s car crashed into his with incredible force.
In court, the SUV driver tearfully described what happened.
"I was waiting for the tail end of the group coming through … I felt, like, a slam. It was a train-like collision I’ve never experienced before … My initial thought was it was a bad movie … I was in shock," he testified.
The defense also faulted a detective, accusing her of tunnel vision with her investigation, and asked why she did not record an interview with the SUV driver.
A nationally known crash expert testified in support of the prosecution and said the BMW’s sophisticated data recorder showed that Shahid accelerated form 60 to 81 mph and never hit the brakes.
Family members and friends of the victims and Shahid packed the courtroom for portions of the trial.
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In closing arguments, prosecutor Jenna Sands told the jury only one person was responsible for the crash: Shahid.
