Truck Hits Van, Killing Boy; Driver Charged With DUI

An 8-year-old boy on his way to church was killed Sunday in Prince William County after the family van was struck by a motorist who was later charged with driving under the influence, according to relatives and county police.

The boy, Joshua Adams, who lived in Warrenton, was lying on the van's rear seat as the vehicle was stopped at a light to turn left from Lee Highway onto Somerset Crossing Drive in the Gainesville area just before 6 a.m., the police said.

Police said a pickup truck drifted into the turn lane and struck the van from the rear. The boy was thrown forward into the center console and severely injured. He was taken to a hospital, where he died, police said.

Police arrested Rodney Aaron Martin, 22, of the 9000 block of Quarry Street in Manassas, charging him with DUI. He was released on a summons with a June court date. Police said the investigation is continuing.

One of the boy's brothers, Mathew Green, who was reached by telephone last night at the family home, said Joshua was an energetic, outgoing second-grader at Fresta Valley Christian School in Marshall. He was "very loving . . . had a wonderful smile and was just a joy to be around," his brother said. "He just lit up a room."

Although police declined to release the names of the others in the van, Mathew Green said another brother, Mackenzie Adams, was driving and the boy's mother, Darlene Adams, was in the front seat.

According to police, the driver, who they said was 20, was treated at the scene for his injuries and the adult passenger, 52, was treated at a hospital.

Mathew Green described himself as angry, shocked and distraught. "All those words," he said. "I don't know what to say."