Rush hour just north of the White House turned deadly, and now a Maryland man is staring down a potential life sentence. On Wednesday, a D.C. jury convicted 38-year-old Spiro Stafilatos in the December 30, 2022 crash on New York Avenue that killed 31-year-old pedestrian Shuyu Sui. Prosecutors said Stafilatos had fled a traffic stop by U.S. Secret Service officers when his Buick LeSabre spun into a crosswalk and hit two people. Jurors returned guilty verdicts on charges including second-degree murder, aggravated assault while armed, and fleeing, sending the long-running case toward a summer sentencing hearing.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the jury found Stafilatos guilty in D.C. Superior Court, and the judge scheduled sentencing for June 25, 2026. The office said the crash happened at about 4:28 p.m. on Dec. 30, 2022, and that prosecutors presented evidence tying Stafilatos’s decision to flee officers directly to the collision. The case was brought in coordination with the Metropolitan Police Department.
How Prosecutors Say The Crash Unfolded
Metropolitan Police Department investigators said Secret Service officers on bicycles pulled over a dark Buick in the 700 block of 15th Street NW after noticing a missing front license plate and an expired rear registration sticker. According to officials, Stafilatos refused repeated commands to put the car in park, then suddenly sped away north on 15th Street before turning onto New York Avenue. His vehicle entered an intersection against a red light and was struck by another car, police said, and the impact shoved the Buick into an east-side crosswalk where it hit two pedestrians who were crossing with a walk signal.
Victim And Survivors
The woman who died was identified as 31-year-old Shuyu Sui of McLean, Virginia, who was pronounced dead at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, according to The Washington Post. Prosecutors and medical witnesses told jurors that the second pedestrian, identified in court coverage as Jiahui Wang, suffered severe brain and body injuries and spent months in intensive care at George Washington University Hospital, D.C. Witness reported. Local reporting has highlighted Sui’s ties to McLean and the long arc from what began as a routine traffic stop to a deadly crash near the White House, as noted by Daily Voice McLean.
Legal Outlook And Sentencing
Sentencing is scheduled for June 25, 2026 in D.C. Superior Court, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said, after securing convictions on charges prosecutors argued reflected a string of reckless decisions that ended in tragedy. Under District law, a second-degree murder conviction can carry a sentence of up to life in prison, although statutory rules govern maximum terms and parole eligibility, according to the D.C. Code.
Defense Stance And Trial Notes
Defense attorneys told jurors that Stafilatos suffers from PTSD and argued his flight from the traffic stop was driven by panic rather than any intent to kill, a theme that surfaced repeatedly throughout the trial, according to D.C. Witness. Prosecutors responded with telematics data and video footage they said showed Stafilatos accelerating to more than 50 mph and running a red light, evidence they argued proved his conduct was criminal and not simply a moment of fear. Court records reflect a lengthy series of hearings following his 2023 arraignment and a contested trial this spring.
The guilty verdict brings a measure of closure to a case that has wound through the courts for years. The matter is set to return to Superior Court on June 25 for the judge to hand down a sentence.
