The 78-year-old victim was crossing Bladensburg Road in the crosswalk at Neal St. when she was struck.  She had proceeded through two of the three lanes of traffic and was about to step onto the median when the unlicensed 16-year-old driver sped through the intersection.  The victim was thrown onto the hood of the car, and the force of the impact caused her head to strike the windshield.  The juvenile driver paused for a brief moment and then continued down the street, fleeing from the scene of the accident and leaving the elderly victim lying severely injured in the roadway.

The victim was transported to the hospital, where, after a weeklong struggle, she succumbed to her injuries on Saturday, July 3, 2004.  Through the course of the week, doctors had to amputate her leg, remove her gallbladder, and restart her heart on several occasions. 

This announcement follows another deadly weekend involving juvenile drivers.  Spagnoletti also announced that OAG has also charged a 12-year-old passenger with Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle in connection with a traffic fatality that occurred in the 4400 block of G Street, SE, on Friday, July 2, 2004.  The 12-year-old was a passenger in a stolen van being driven by a 16 year old.  The stolen van struck 21-year-old Terry Weaver, the father of two baby girls, on a moped.  Mr. Weaver was thrown over 100 feet from the location of the impact.  He died from the massive trauma he sustained in the collision.  The moped became lodged underneath the van and caught fire.  The 16-year-old driver nevertheless continued to drive the burning, stolen van down the street.  The 16-year-old eventually parked the vehicle, and he and the juvenile passengers fled the scene.  The 16-year-old driver is expected to be charged as an adult by the Office of the United States Attorney.  

Attorney General Spagnoletti also announced charges in a third incident, which did not result in any fatalities.  On Monday, June 28, 2004, a 12-year-old juvenile was recklessly driving a stolen 2004 Jeep Liberty on Lane Place, NE, when the juvenile lost control and struck a tree and several parked cars.  The Jeep Liberty flipped over and landed on its roof, injuring the 12-year-old driver.  The driver crawled out of the car and fled the scene.

According to Spagnoletti, “In many of these cases, young kids who can barely see over the steering column are operating a stolen car in such a way that it becomes a weapon.  This case is just one example of the terror and danger that this so-called ‘joy riding’ inflicts on our community.  The District’s Office of the Attorney General, which is responsible for prosecuting juveniles, prosecutes approximately 600 auto-theft-related cases per year.  A number of these cases in recent months have resulted in deaths of pedestrians or individuals in other vehicles.” 

The physical and emotional damage that these incidents cause have a staggering effect on victims and communities.  “People are plagued with fear about stepping out of their front doors in some areas of the city,” said Spagnoletti.  “Each day my office sees hard working victims who are substantially affected by the financial impact that results from having their cars stolen and badly damaged or because of a juvenile who has run into their cars or their property.”  Spagnoletti further noted, “Some of the victims that we work with run up thousands of dollars of debt as a result of what is being unfairly characterized as ‘joy riding.’  In the worst of these cases, as illustrated recently, innocent people are killed.”

Under current District law, victims of juvenile crimes, unlike their adult counterparts, do not have a right to restitution, do not have the right to information about the offender or the status of the court case, and do not have the right to submit a victim impact statement to the judge for sentencing.  However, legislation submitted by the Mayor would change all of that.  A bill, which was voted out of the Council’s Committee on the Judiciary on June 22, 2004, would grant victims of juvenile crimes these rights. A provision of the bill that would have made it easier to transfer juveniles for adult prosecution, however, was eliminated by the Judiciary Committee.