The juvenile auto theft surge that has repeatedly struck Potomac streets this summer turned fatal on Aug. 4 when a 13-year-old driving a stolen Kia killed a father of five in Germantown. On Monday, Aug. 17, a crowd stood in the rain at that same intersection to honor him.

William Vance Payne, II, a 58-year-old mechanical engineer who worked at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg for nearly 30 years, was driving his Toyota Matrix eastbound on Clopper Road at about 5:25 a.m. when a stolen 2015 Kia Optima ran through the intersection from Great Seneca Highway and struck him. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The Kia carried seven juveniles ages 12 to 15. None had a driver's license.

The candlelight vigil at Clopper Road and Great Seneca Highway drew Payne's youngest sister, Angela, who traveled from Alabama to attend, according to MyMCMedia. A GoFundMe campaign for Payne's wife, Lisa, and their five children has raised more than $113,000.

No charges have been announced against the juvenile driver.

"You can't bring Vance back, no matter what. It was a lethal decision that they made. It was deadly," Angela said at the vigil.

Vigil organizer Yuki Nakandakari, who lives two blocks from the crash site and commutes through the intersection daily, told the crowd that the tragedy reflects a collective failure. "This accident happens because we as a society have failed," she said. "If you've got kids, be with your kids, raise your kids."

The crash fits a pattern Potomac residents know well. Auto thefts are up 20% countywide this year, with more than 1,500 reported so far in 2026 and more than 90 juvenile arrests connected to stolen vehicles, according to figures cited by 7News reporter John Gonzalez on X. In Potomac, police reported a vehicle stolen from Park Potomac Avenue during the weekend of Aug. 8-10, part of a string of vehicle thefts and crimes in the area we reported Aug. 14.

NIST said in a statement issued Aug. 5 that Payne's research focused on making residential heat pump and air conditioning systems more reliable and efficient. Originally from Sandy Ridge, Alabama, he attended Auburn University and earned his doctorate at Texas A&M in 1997. He lived in Berryville, Virginia, a town of fewer than 5,000 near the West Virginia border, with Lisa and their three young children. He also had two adult daughters.

Montgomery County Police spokesperson Shiera Goff said on the day of the crash that none of the Kia's occupants was old enough to drive. A witness had reported the vehicle driving erratically before the collision, and emergency crews extinguished flames from the overturned Kia.

The Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office will decide whether to file charges once police complete their investigation, which officials said could take weeks to months.