Driver Charged in Fatal Crash That Killed Grandmother and Teen
The new counts come more than five months after Annie Vu and Su Nguyen died in Fairfax County.
FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — An Ohio man accused of driving more than 100 mph on the Capital Beltway on Christmas night now faces two involuntary manslaughter charges in a crash that killed a teen girl and her grandmother.
Virginia State Police served the new warrants Thursday on Devin Juliana, 48, of Steubenville, Ohio, after months of pressure from the victims’ family. Juliana had first been charged with reckless driving, a misdemeanor. The new felony counts change the stakes in a case that has drawn grief and anger from relatives of 15-year-old Annie Vu and 75-year-old Su Nguyen, both of Annandale.
The crash happened around 10:39 p.m. Dec. 25 on eastbound Interstate 495 near the 49-mile marker in Fairfax County. Police said the Vu family was heading home from a holiday gathering in a Toyota Sienna minivan when Juliana’s Dodge Ram pickup truck hit the rear of the vehicle. “From the onset, he was only charged with reckless driving, which does not fit the crime of the two deaths that we’ve experienced,” Kathie Vu, Annie Vu’s aunt, said outside court. The family watched Thursday as Juliana was taken into custody in handcuffs.
Police said the Sienna was traveling in the center lanes at about the posted 55 mph speed limit when it was struck from behind. The impact crushed the rear passenger area and pushed the minivan into the Express Lanes. All occupants of the Sienna were taken to a hospital. Nguyen and Annie Vu later died. Annie’s mother, Duy Cao, and Annie’s brother were among those hurt. A short distance away, troopers found the damaged Dodge Ram on the main lanes of I-495. Juliana and his wife, Tiffany Juliana, were also taken to a hospital. Police said Tiffany Juliana suffered serious injuries and appeared in court Thursday on crutches.
Court and search warrant records cited by investigators say data from the Ram’s control module placed its speed between 100 and 109 mph before the crash. Those records also said there was no evidence of braking or steering away before impact. When a trooper interviewed Juliana at a hospital, Juliana said he and his wife had just picked up a food order and that the truck’s windows had fogged up, according to the records. The trooper later wrote that Juliana became unresponsive and could not be roused. Police have not said publicly whether toxicology findings or other evidence led to the manslaughter charges.
Annie Vu was a student at Annandale High School. Her death, and the death of her grandmother, brought public attention to a case that relatives said had moved too slowly. The family sought help from a private attorney and pushed prosecutors to seek stronger charges. Kathie Vu said the arrest did not ease the loss, but marked a step in the family’s search for accountability. “Nothing will bring our Annie and our grandmother back,” she said. “But this is a piece of the journey, and there’s a little bit of justice that is being done.”
Juliana is being held without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. He also still faces the reckless driving charge in Fairfax County General District Court. Online court records cited in local reports show that charge was filed in February and that a hearing was continued Thursday by agreement. His next adjudicatory hearing on the reckless driving case is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. June 23. The manslaughter counts had not yet appeared in online court records Thursday, according to local reports. Police said the crash remains under investigation.
The case began as a Christmas night emergency call near the I-66 interchange in the Idylwood and Tysons area, where traffic on I-495 was moving through one of Northern Virginia’s busiest highway corridors. Witnesses reported a minivan with heavy rear-end damage in the Express Lanes. Troopers then found the Ram nearby with two injured people inside. For the Vu family, the setting has become tied to the final moments of a holiday trip home. Relatives have described Annie as a bright student and Nguyen as a beloved grandmother whose death left a deep hole in the family.
The case now moves forward with Juliana in custody and prosecutors weighing the upgraded charges in court. The next known milestone is the June 23 hearing on the reckless driving charge, while state police continue the fatal crash investigation.
Author note: Last updated June 5, 2026.