Driver Who Killed 8 in Race Crowd Faces an Unrelated Charge

The Waldorf man who plowed his car into a crowd at an illegal street race three months ago in Prince George's County, killing eight people, was arrested last week on an unrelated charge of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

According to police, Darren J. Bullock, 20, was pulled over at Ryon Court and Vivian Adams Drive in Charles County after a Maryland State Police trooper determined that he was driving a white GMC Safari that had been reported stolen. The trooper was using a machine that automatically scans license plates and runs them through a police database to determine whether there is reason to stop the cars, said Lt. Randy Stephens, commander of the state police barracks in La Plata.

"It continuously scans tags," he said of the machine, which indicated that Bullock was driving a stolen van. "It's kind of like a radar for serious violations like stolen vehicles."

Bullock told police that he had been driving the van, which, he said, belonged to his stepfather, for several days, according to a police charging document. He also said he did not know it had been reported stolen.

Police contacted the van's owner, who said that she lent it to Bullock's stepfather in September because he was working for her but that he "disappeared and never returned the vehicle," according to the charging document. The woman reported it stolen to Prince George's police in February.

Bullock was arrested and released on a $3,000 bond.

Through his attorney, John M. McKenna, Bullock declined to comment. McKenna also declined to comment on this incident because he said he has not discussed it with Bullock and because the police investigation into the February crash is pending.

Bullock has not been charged in that crash.

"It's under investigation, but I think all the evidence leads into the direction of an unfortunate and highly tragic accident, but nothing more," McKenna said of the February crash.

In March, Bullock agreed to perform 32 hours of community service to resolve an earlier charge of driving with a suspended license. The charge, which McKenna said stemmed from Bullock not knowing that his license had been suspended, was placed on the inactive docket.