There were two illegal street races in Prince George’s County in the early-morning hours of Feb. 16; the one roughly 200 people gathered to watch on Indian Head Highway in Accokeek and the other that slammed into the crowd, killing eight, State’s Attorney Glenn Ivey said Tuesday.

Ivey announced the indictments of the two drivers in the other race — Waldorf residents Darren Jamar Bullock, 21, and Tavon Taylor, 18 — on multiple manslaughter charges.

Authorities believe it was Bullock’s 1999 Crown Victoria that struck 14 people, including the eight who were killed. But under Maryland law, any driver in an illegal race that results in injury can be held responsible for those injuries, which is why Taylor is being charged with the same eight counts of vehicular manslaughter that are now pending against his acquaintance, Bullock. The two are believed to have been racing each other.

They’re also being charged with reckless driving and illegal racing, and each could face more than 80 years behind bars.

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Neither could be reached for comment.

A camera posted at a nearby Beretta gun factory caught the crash on film, and prosecutors said that with the help of at least 75 witnesses and an accident reconstruction team, police were able to piece the events of the deadly night together.

It was around 3 on a cold Saturday morning when two cars began firing up their engines, getting the crowd’s attention before they boomed off toward the dark finish line ahead, witnesses said.

Onlookers said moments before the two cars launched, their tires spun against the pavement, sending up a cloud of smoke. As the cars took off, the crowd rushed forward into the two-lane highway, their eyes trained for the finish line; for many, fistfuls of cash were on the line.

With their backs turned to the direction of oncoming traffic, the spectators couldn’t see the fast-approaching cars of Bullock and Taylor, who drove a green Mercury Marquis, racing up behind them. When Bullock allegedly crashed into the crowd, bodies went flying and screams pierced the air, police said.

No charges have been filed against the drivers in the race that the crowd had gathered to watch.

“We were more focused on the deaths, but there could be traffic charges [for the other racers],” Ivey said.

In the months since the crash, police struggled to get witnesses to open up, Ivey said.

“There was reluctance, but we kept working on it,” he said. “We didn’t immunize people.”

Bullock was driving on a suspended license and was pulled over in May for allegedly driving a stolen van in Charles County. Court records show that Taylor was ticketed in March for driving with a passenger who was under 16 and not wearing a seat belt.

fklopott@dcexaminer.com