Questions Over Deadly Road-Rage Incident Abound

The only thing certain about the road-rage incident last weekend that left a Sterling man dead and a Gaithersburg man charged with second-degree murder is that authorities are still trying to figure out what happened on the Dulles Access Road that night.

During a hearing in Loudoun County yesterday, a prosecutor dropped charges of aggressive driving and driving on a suspended license against Indeshaw Adenaw, 32, whose pickup truck struck Charles Vo, 50, killing him about 8 p.m. Saturday.

Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Alejandra Hammack did not say why the state threw out the charges. But the prosecutor said a witness saw Vo get out of his van and approach Adenaw's truck "in an aggressive manner." She told the judge that investigators plan to reinterview the witness to determine "exactly what that means."

Hammack also said that Vo stopped his van between the left lane and the left shoulder, with his wife and children inside. Police found Vo's palm print on the hood of Adenaw's truck, she said.

Another driver who said he witnessed much of the incident told The Washington Post that Vo stopped in the left lane of traffic, climbed out of his van and walked back toward Adenaw's truck. The witness, Hugh Grindstaff, said Vo tailgated Adenaw's truck, tried to pass it on the left shoulder, then did pass in the right lane before cutting in front of Adenaw and stopping. Grindstaff said he did not see whether Vo had anything in his hand as he approached Adenaw's truck on foot.

The witness accounts appear to buttress the contention of Adenaw's attorney, John K. Zwerling, who has said that Adenaw was not the main aggressor in the incident. Nevertheless, Loudoun General District Court Judge J. Frank Buttery Jr. declined to set bond for Adenaw, who was being held in the county jail.

Outside the courtroom, Zwerling said dim nighttime lighting along the road and the intensity of the moment may have led Adenaw to believe that Vo, who witnesses said had a cellphone in his hand when he got out of his van, was waving a weapon at him. Zwerling said Adenaw feared for his life and was forced to make a split-second decision between driving into the path of traffic or toward the left shoulder where Vo was standing.

"He didn't have a choice," Zwerling said. "He felt threatened."

Nearly a dozen friends and family members showed up in support of Adenaw, who was led into court in shackles. Zwerling called his client's father, Adenaw Indeshaw, 72, to testify for his son. The father said Adenaw, a native of Ethiopia, runs his own Web site design company in Maryland and has been a law-abiding person since immigrating to this country 14 years ago.

"He's never been in trouble," Indeshaw said.

Zwerling said Adenaw has custody of his 8-year-old son and needs to run his business to support himself. Zwerling said Adenaw volunteered to surrender his British passport, saying he has no reason to flee the charges.

"He is a man who has never been convicted of a crime in his life, and this is a pretty unusual situation," Zwerling said.

Buttery denied the request to release Adenaw on bond, saying that although he is a permanent resident of the United States, his Maryland residency could make him a flight risk.

Adenaw's next court hearing is scheduled for Sept. 14.

Staff writer Tom Jackman contributed to this report.