Calif. mom, 45, charged after teen son allegedly causes fatal crash

A California mother has been charged with child cruelty after her 15-year-old son allegedly caused a fatal car crash, police said.

In June, an officer from the Bakersfield Police Department said they witnessed a Dodge Challenger driving through the grass at Polo Park. When the officer attempted to pull over the car, police said the driver fled. The driver apparently lost control of the Challenger and crashed into a tree on Noriega Road, injuring himself and three teen passengers who were inside, police said.

Media coverage at the time reported that a teenage boy in the front passenger seat was critically injured in the collision. Now, police have revealed one occupant of the vehicle died.

According to police reports reviewed by KGET, the 15-year-old unlicensed driver raced away from the scene at up to 100 mph. After crashing into a tree, the police reports say a boy in the front passenger seat had to be rescued from the car by a responding officer; the teen later died after incurring head trauma in the crash. The driver has not been identified because he is a minor. 

The alleged driver’s mother has also been charged in connection with the fatal crash. According to Kern County court records, the 45-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of willful cruelty to a child, a felony, and allowing an unlicensed person to operate a vehicle, a misdemeanor. KGET reported that she “gave her 15-year-old son the keys to her Dodge Challenger with the expectation he would only make a quick trip to the market and come straight home.”

She was released on $20,500 bail and is due back in court in mid-October for a preliminary hearing.