Prince George's County man gets 10 years in Bladensburg birthday crash

Does 10 years match the scale of harm from a crash that devastated a child’s birthday party, and what has changed since to prevent a repeat? Those questions still hang over Bladensburg after Sunday Okedeyi Joseph was sentenced to prison in a case that left one woman dead, 13 others injured and a neighborhood celebration shattered.

Joseph received a sentence of 10 years after pleading guilty to 15 of the 36 charges filed against him. The judge imposed 12 years and 120 days, then suspended all but 10 years, ending one of the county’s most closely watched traffic cases of the year.

Prosecutors said the crash happened on Oct. 18, 2025, in the 4100 block of 56th Avenue in Bladensburg, where a 6-year-old girl’s birthday party was underway. Police said Joseph lost control of his car and reversed from the area of Annapolis Road into the tent where the gathering was taking place. Ashley Hernandez Gutierrez, 31, of Washington, D.C., died from her injuries. Thirteen other people were hurt, including eight children and five adults.

The violence of the scene deepened the trauma. Reporting from the case said the car had to be lifted to rescue victims trapped underneath, and people initially fled in shock before the scale of the injuries became clear. Joseph fled after the crash and was arrested the following day, though later court reporting said he turned himself in about 10 hours after the collision.

Prince George’s County officials said Joseph was indicted Jan. 23, 2026, on 36 charges, including grossly negligent manslaughter by motor vehicle, three counts of hit-and-run involving serious bodily injury, 11 counts of failure to return and remain at the scene involving bodily injury and 11 counts of reckless driving. Prosecutors said they could not prove impairment under the circumstances, which left the case focused on the reckless driving and flight from the scene.

At sentencing, family members described injuries that extended far beyond the first night. Victims and relatives told the court about PTSD, depression, nightmares and the fear that now shadows ordinary family celebrations. Some said birthday parties will never look the same to the children who were there.

Court reporting also said Joseph had a valid driver’s license, no known history of reckless driving and used a Yoruba interpreter in earlier proceedings. For Prince George’s County, the case has become a stark reminder of how quickly a residential block can turn into a mass-casualty scene, and how long the damage can last after the sirens are gone.