13-year-old at the wheel of stolen Kia involved in fatal Germantown crash

Police identify a Virginia man as the person killed Tuesday

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August 5, 2026 12:01 p.m. | Updated: August 5, 2026 12:03 p.m.

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Montgomery County police on Wednesday released more information about the fatal two-vehicle collision in Germantown on Tuesday, saying that the driver of the stolen Kia was a 13-year-old boy and that the person killed was William Vance Payne II, a 58-year-old Virginia man.

Payne, the driver of a blue 2007 Toyota Matrix, was pronounced dead at the scene after his vehicle was struck by a white 2015 Kia Optima at the intersection of Clopper Road and Great Seneca Highway early Tuesday morning, according to police.

Payne’s wife, Lisa, told the Winchester Star that her husband had been on his way to work at the National Institute of Standards and Technology when the crash occurred. He was a mechanical engineer at the Gaithersburg facility, according to his employee profile.

A GoFundMe campaign was set up Tuesday to support Payne’s family. According to the campaign, Payne leaves behind a wife and five children, three young children and two adult daughters. As of Wednesday morning the campaign raised more than $17,800.

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The occupants of the stolen Kia included four girls, ages 12, 13 and 14, and three boys, ages 12, 13 and 15, police said. The 13-year-old boy who was driving the Kia was transported to a local hospital in critical but stable condition. The other juveniles suffered injuries of varying severity and were taken to several area trauma centers, according to police.

Montgomery County police officers and Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service crews responded to the intersection shortly after 5:25 a.m. Tuesday for the reported collision. Fire officials said the crash involved an overturned vehicle, entrapment and multiple injured patients.

The collision involved eight people, including Payne and seven juveniles inside the Kia. Police said the vehicle had been stolen from a Germantown residence before the crash. Investigators also said no adult was in the Kia.

According to a preliminary investigation, the Kia was traveling northbound on Great Seneca Highway when it entered the intersection and struck the eastbound Toyota Matrix on Clopper Road.

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MCFRS spokesperson Pete Piringer said emergency crews treated multiple patients at the scene, including three with the most serious injuries, two trauma patients and two patients with less serious injuries. Dozens of first responders, including ambulance crews, medic units, fire engines, rescue personnel and command staff responded to the crash.

The Montgomery County Police Department’s Collision Reconstruction Unit is continuing to investigate the crash. Police said the investigation could take several weeks or months to complete. Any charges related to the collision will be determined by the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office after investigators present their findings.

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine