Man Pleads Guilty In Fatal Dirt Bike Crash In Stafford

STAFFORD, VA—A Stafford man pleaded guilty Wednesday, April 3, to involuntary manslaughter in Stafford Circuit Court regarding a fatal August 2018 dirt bike crash in the area of Inez Way and Andrew Chapel Road. Franklin Delano Hess, 25, had been charged in the death of 26-year-old Thomas Clayton Langston of Fredericksburg. He faces a maximum 11 years in prison when he's sentenced June 27.

Shortly before 9 p.m. on Aug. 4, police responded to the aforementioned area for a reported dirt bike crash. They found that Langston stopped his bike on Andrew Chapel Road before trying to turn onto Inez Way. A second dirt bike driving by Hess failed to brake and crashed into the victim.

Both people were thrown from their dirt bikes, and neither was wearing protective gear. Langston was taken to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead. Hess was taken to a nearby hospital, treated and released.

Commonwealth's Attorney Eric Olsen, according to the Free Lance-Star, said it was "a horribly tragic incident that had devastating consequences."