Sheriff: Teens who survived fatal high-speed crash may not be charged
By Ari Hait
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STUART, Florida (WPBF) — Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said it’s not clear if anyone will be held criminally responsible for a fatal high-speed crash Tuesday morning.
Rescuers pulled two more bodies from the river near Kanner Highway Wednesday, confirming that three people were killed when a car crashed into the water.
The sheriff’s office identified one victim as 17-year-old Marcus Griffin of Lake Worth.
The identities of the other two have not yet been released.
Investigators said five people had been in the stolen car as it sped through the county at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour, running red lights and driving into oncoming traffic.
The car eventually lost control as it reached the end of Cove Road, crossed Kanner Highway, went through trees and into water, sinking.
Two teenagers survived.
“A tragic loss of life, very sad,” Snyder said. “But this was completely avoidable. Had that car stopped, had they not gotten into a stolen car, had they not went racing through the streets at triple digit speeds, we would not have three people dead right now.”
Snyder said it’s unknown right now if the two survivors will be charged.
He said in order to charge them in connection with the three deaths, investigators have to know who was driving the car.
And he said the two teens aren’t talking.
“This is a difficult case, because we have two uncooperating suspects,” Snyder said. “We have three dead victims. We have very little physical evidence. So, for us to determine exactly who was driving is going to be a chore. It’s not impossible.”
The sheriff says it might also be difficult to charge the teens in connection with the stolen car since prosecutors will have to prove the teens knew the car they were in was stolen.
For now, the teens have been released pending the outcome of the investigation.
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