VAN BUREN TWP. (WWJ) -- A teenage boy has been charged in connection with a car crash that killed one person and injured three others last year.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced Wednesday that she is charging the 17-year-old, of Van Buren Township, with one count of second-degree murder and one count of reckless driving causing serious bodily injury.
According to officials, last year on February 7, at approximately 6:30 p.m., Van Buren Township police officers were dispatched to the area of Belleville Road, between Ecorse and Robson roads for a reported head-on collision.
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Upon arrival, police were advised that 20-year-old Chataya Jayana Thurman of Van Buren Township was unresponsive and trapped in the rear of the teenager's vehicle. The young woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
The teen and the remaining victims — an 18-year-old Van Buren Township woman, a 56-year-old Ypsilanti woman and a 51-year-old Ypsilanti man — were taken to a hospital for treatment.
It is alleged that the juvenile was driving southbound on Belleville Road at a high rate of speed, when he lost control of his vehicle and crossed over into the northbound lanes, resulting in the crash.
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He is not being charged as an adult defendant, but he has been adult designated. This means that upon conviction the judge has the option of sentencing him as a juvenile, as an adult or to create a blended juvenile sentence with the option of imposing an adult sentence if he is not rehabilitated.
The teen appeared for a preliminary hearing at the Juvenile Detention Facility on Wednesday, and given a $10,000/10% bond.
If released on bond, he must have not contact with victims, cannot posess weapons and cannot use drugs. His next court date is scheduled for March before Judge Edward Joseph.
The teen's name will not be released due to his age.