The man who is accused of killing someone while street racing on a major road in Redwood City two years ago pleaded not guilty earlier this week and could spend up to nine years in jail.
Some of you may remember the terrible accident that happened on El Camino Real in Redwood City on November 4, 2022. Two street-racing cars hit a third car, a Chevrolet Bolt driven by Grace Spiridon and carrying her husband Gregory Ammen and their twin seven-year-old girls.
Both Spiridon and Ammen died quickly. A teenage driver who stayed at the scene of the accident was blamed for it because he or she had been racing with another car on the street.
As the story goes on, Kyle Harrison, 25, of Redwood City, drove up to a stoplight in his BMW next to Cesar Morales, 17, who was driving a Mercedes.
Prosecutors say that the two cars revved their engines and chose on their own to race when the light turned green, each going 80 to 90 miles per hour. We may find out who they think started the race when Morales goes to trial.
Spiridon and Ammen’s Bolt was “crushed and launched into the air,” according to reports. The twin girls somehow made it through the crash, but their parents did not.
Harrison pleaded not guilty to both felony vehicular manslaughter and taking part in a speed race that killed someone. It looks like Harrison also ran away from the scene of the crime and had to be found by his license number, which was written down by a witness.
Morales’s hearing, which started yesterday in juvenile court, has been moved to adult court, but Judge Susan Irene Etezadi of the San Mateo County Superior Court said no to the prosecutors’ request to move the case to adult court. Morales is now 19 years old.
In a statement, a lawyer for the victims said, “This case is the result of a brutal disregard for human life.” A lot of people in the Bay Area race cars on the street, putting other people’s lives at risk.
The judge will decide Harrison’s sentence on December 2. He could get up to nine years and four months in prison.
Madison and Olivia are twin girls who were left alone. A GoFundMe page set up to help them has raised almost $600,000 and is no longer accepting gifts.
