Teen driver kills passenger, flees scene

A 16-year-old Florida driver is facing a series of serious charges after he reportedly caused a serious car accident at a nearby college. The driver struck a building at the Liberty City campus of Miami-Dade College, killing a passenger in his vehicle and wounding three other occupants.

Authorities report the crash occurred during the early morning hours of Aug. 27, when the teen driver sped through a red light at an intersection near the campus. The vehicle then careened through the street, as captured on traffic cameras, narrowly missing several cars before striking a concrete pillar on the college campus. The accident scene was just blocks away from the intersection at which the teen ran through the traffic signal.

Sadly, the vehicle ignited when it struck the concrete pillar. One of the teenaged passengers was unable to escape the burning vehicle and perished in the crash. The three others were able to escape.

The driver, in a shocking display of selfishness, escaped the vehicle through the sunroof and fled the scene. He then sought out a passerby to get a ride home, even as his passengers were trapped inside the burning vehicle. The teen received care for his injuries at a nearby hospital, though he claimed that he had suffered the wounds in a fight. The young driver is charged with reckless driving, leaving the scene of an accident causing injury and leaving the scene of an accident causing death. In addition, it appears that the young man was not licensed to drive.

One of the passengers remains in critical condition at this hour. It is not clear whether drugs or alcohol were involved in this incident.

Teenagers are well-known in insurance companies as higher-risk drivers, but incidents like this demonstrate exactly why young people should be restricted when first learning to drive. Since this young man did not have a driver's license at all, he should have never gotten behind the wheel. Now, a grieving family is left without their teenage relative, all because of the driver's patently illegal behavior.

Source: www.nbcmiami.com, "Teen charged in fatal Miami-Dade College Crash" Brian Hamacher, Aug. 29, 2013