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A driver who was traveling 87 mph before a 2023 crash that killed 17-year-old Rebekah Zarco will serve three years in prison.
A Fairfax County Circuit Court judge on Thursday sentenced Jose Zelaya to 10 years, suspending seven of them. Zelaya pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in December 2025.
The fatal collision occurred July 18, 2023, outside the Burke Centre Shopping Center. Zelaya was racing another vehicle on Burke Centre Parkway when he struck Zarco’s car as she turned left from the shopping plaza.
Zarco, a Burke resident who had recently graduated from James W. Robinson Jr. Secondary School in Fairfax, was killed. Her younger brother and two friends were injured but survived.
Prosecutors said data from Zelaya’s vehicle showed that 1.5 seconds before impact, he was traveling 87 mph with the throttle at 99%. The posted speed limit was 40 mph.
Zelaya initially told police he had been driving about 50 mph and said Zarco’s vehicle entered his path too late for him to stop.
Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said sentencing guidelines called for zero to six months of active incarceration, while his office sought a six-year sentence.
“There is no prison sentence that can do justice for the loss of a young life,” Descano said, adding that Zarco’s family, church and community were permanently changed by her death and Zelaya’s reckless actions.