VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (FOX 2) - A 17-year-old from Van Buren Township is accused of causing a fatal crash while speeding last year.
Police said the teen was driving south on Belleville Road between Ecorse Road and Robson Road in Van Buren Township around 6:30 p.m. Feb. 7, 2021, when he lost control and crossed the centerline. He hit a vehicle head-on, police said.
According to police, crash trapped Chataya Jayana Thurman, 19, of Van Buren Township, in the backseat of the teen's vehicle. Thurman died.
An 18-year-old Van Buren Township woman, a 56-year-old Ypsilanti woman, and a 51-year-old Ypsilanti man were hurt in the crash.
The teen, who has not yet been arraigned, is charged with second-degree murder and reckless driving causing serious bodily injury.
He is charged with adult designation, which means the judge has the option to sentence him as a juvenile, or as an adult, or with a blended juvenile sentence with the option of imposing an adult sentence if he is not rehabilitated.