Haymarket teen charged in Prince William Co. car crash that killed 19-year-old
A teen driver involved in a crash in Prince William County, Virginia, that left a 19-year-old dead over the weekend is now facing charges.
On Tuesday, police announced that a 16-year-old Haymarket boy was charged with reckless driving and driving without a license in connection with the crash that killed Qais Jailani, 19, of Haymarket.
The crash happened Saturday around 1 a.m. along a winding stretch of Catharpin Road near Fallen Oaks Place in Gainesville.
Police initially said Jailani was behind the wheel of a 2016 Hyundai Elantra traveling south on Catharpin Road at a high speed shortly after 1 a.m. Aug. 26 when the 16-year-old, who was in a 2015 Corolla, passed him, crossing over a double yellow line. Police said Jailani then attempted to overtake the Corolla in a “No Passing Zone,” but hit the Corolla’s bumper.
The Corolla rotated and struck a third car — a 2006 Scion traveling in the opposite direction — while the Elantra that Jailani was driving left the roadway and traveled down an embankment before striking a tree. Jailani was taken to the hospital where he died.
A passenger in Jailani’s car, a 19-year-old man from Gainesville, suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
In the update Tuesday, police said both Jailani and the 16-year-old were driving well above the posted 40 mph speed limit in the stretch of Catharpin Road where the crash happened.
The driver of the Scion, identified only as a 50-year-old South Riding woman, was not injured. Police said she was driving properly “and was uninvolved in the driving behavior of the other two drivers.”
A court date is pending for the 16 year-old.
WTOP’s Jack Moore contributed to this report.