A juvenile involved in a “car surfing” crash that killed a 16-year-old in Douglas County last month has been charged with vehicular homicide and assault, prosecutors announced Monday.
Douglas County sheriff’s officials said witnesses to the May 5 rollover crash told authorities the backseat passengers, including the 16-year-old, were hanging out of the car’s windows at the time of the accident on Quarry Road, east of Finn Avenue.
The suspect, who is not being identified because they are a juvenile, is facing two felony charges of vehicular homicide and vehicular assault, said Eric Ross, a spokesperson for the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. A misdemeanor count of reckless endangerment has also been filed.
The Douglas County Coroner’s Office declined to release the identity of the 16-year-old killed in the crash.
Late last month, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office alerted the public to a rash of recent “car surfing” incidents. Officials said deputies responded to six calls, including the deadly crash, involving minors riding outside of moving vehicles over the previous month.
Earlier, in late April, a deputy spotted two teenagers seated on the roof of a car traveling more than 55 mph, sheriff’s officials said, and on May 12, a civilian reported and photographed another juvenile sitting on the rear passenger ledge of a moving vehicle.
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