A 13-year-old boy was behind the wheel of a stolen Kia packed full of kids when he crashed into another car before dawn Tuesday, killing the other driver, William Vance Payne II, 58, of Berryville, Virginia.
The violent crash happened before sunrise Tuesday at Clopper Road and Great Seneca Highway in Germantown, Maryland, when first responders arrived about 5:25 a.m. and found a white 2015 Kia Optima and a blue 2007 Toyota Matrix with extensive damage, and the driver of the Toyota was pronounced dead at the scene.
Payne was a father of five and had a long career as a mechanical engineer.
“William Vance Payne II was known as Vance. He was 58. He was kind and generous to a fault,” his wife, Lisa Payne, said in a brief statement.
Loved ones said Payne was on his way to work at the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) that morning and was only about three miles — a roughly 10-minute drive — from work when he was killed in the crash.
He had worked at NIST for 29 years, most recently as a mechanical engineer in their Engineering Laboratory’s Building Energy and Environment Division.
“His research focused on making residential heat pump and air conditioning systems more reliable, safe and efficient for the homeowners and residents who rely on them.”
The Kia’s driver, believed to be a 13-year-old boy, was rushed to a hospital in critical but stable condition, and the other minors — four girls and two boys — were taken to hospitals with injuries of varying severity, with two of the girls being 14, while the others are 13 and 12, and the two other boys being 15 and 12.
The vehicle had been stolen from a Germantown residence before the crash, and investigators said no adult was in the Kia.
A Montgomery County Police spokeswoman Shiera Goff told 7News: “What I can say to you is that the white vehicle, it had juveniles in the vehicle. They were between the ages of 12 and 15, none of them were licensed at the age of 15. No one is of age to be driving a vehicle.”
Investigators have not said what charges the children may face after this crash, with the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office saying it was too early to comment since the investigation is still going on.
“We are focusing on our family right now as we process the tragic and painful loss of a devoted father, husband and friend to so many. Please respect our privacy at this time,” Lisa Payne texted to The Banner.
Payne lived with his wife, Lisa, and young children — two girls and a younger boy — in Berryville, a town of fewer than 5,000 people close to the West Virginia border, and the family’s modest house, with a wreath on the door and children’s stickers in a window, sits less than a mile from Berryville Baptist Church, which the Payne family attends.
Brenda Dofflemyer, 68, who also attends Berryville Baptist, said sadness is spreading through the town as people learn of Vance Payne’s death, and the Paynes are a religious family looked up to within the church.
The success of the GoFundMe, which raised more than $32,000 in the day after their father’s death, shows “they’re very special people,” she said.
Payne’s neighbor Sarah Colfelt, 47, said she did not know the Paynes well but would often see his young daughters riding their bicycles and would sometimes wave to Payne’s wife when she drove by, and when learning of his death on Instagram, said she did not know he worked all the way in Gaithersburg.
The loss has rippled through Lisa Payne’s school community, where she teaches first grade, with friends and parents sharing messages of support online while asking the public to respect the family’s privacy as they grieve.
A coworker who visited the accident scene Wednesday afternoon told 7News Payne was one of the “most warm” and “friendly” people he had ever known, describing him as “salt of the earth,” and said the loss was devastating to Payne’s coworkers.
Organizer Sophia Kedzierski wrote on the GoFundMe: “On Tuesday, husband, father of five, and dear friend, Vance Payne passed away tragically on his way to work. If you are able to support Vance’s family during these horrifying times, we would be incredibly grateful.”
On Tuesday, August 4th, Vance Payne passed away tragically on his way to work, leaving behind his wife, Lisa, three young children, and two adult daughters, and a GoFundMe was launched to support the family during the horrifying times.
In the viral moment captured by early morning emergency responders,
a stolen 2015 Kia Optima driven by the 13-year-old boy on Great Seneca Highway entered the intersection of Clopper Road and Great Seneca Highway and struck the Toyota at around 5:25 a.m. Tuesday.
Officers arrived to find both vehicles severely damaged.
Payne was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation into the collision remains active as Montgomery County police continue examining the circumstances surrounding the crash, with detectives working to determine the full sequence of events that led to the fatal collision, including the actions of those inside the stolen vehicle, and authorities have not announced additional findings as investigators continue gathering evidence and reviewing the case.