CLEVELAND — A 17-year-old boy appeared in juvenile court in connection with a deadly crash in Cleveland’s Old Brooklyn neighborhood.
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Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley says he plans to file a motion to charge the teen as an adult.
The teen is accused in back-to-back stolen car cases and appeared in juvenile court on six charges in two separate cases.
Between the two cases, he's charged with two counts of receiving stolen property vehicle, receiving stolen property gun, improper handling of firearm, and CCW violation.
"It's just the reckless disregard that we're seeing where people are driving 91 miles per hour,” O’Malley said.
O’Malley says two innocent people have died in separate stolen car crashes in less than one month.
The most recent deadly crash happened last Thursday, Aug. 3, when a stolen Kia Optima crashed into a Honda Accord, according to a police report.
O’Malley says the prosecutor's office believes he was the driver that killed Janet Reyes.
RELATED: Woman dies after police say stolen KIA crashes into car in Old Brooklyn
"Horrific, it was just a horrific crash,” O’Malley said.
O’Malley wants it to stop.
He says the stolen car crime trend has now claimed two lives in less than one month in Cleveland.
“The victim had returned to Cleveland to go to a festival this past weekend and in her return to her home city, she lost her life through this plague of stolen KIA's and Hyundai's that has saturated our county,” O’Malley said.
Reyes was in the passenger seat and News 5 Investigators spoke with her cousin last week."The world won't be the same without her,” said Luis Gandarilla.
Her family says Reyes’ friend was driving and is in critical condition.
O’Malley says the stolen KIA that flipped on its roof was going at least 60 miles over the speed limit.
“Clearly, the car didn't anticipate the speed of the stolen car, which my understanding has been calculated to be 91 miles per hour,” O’Malley said.
O’Malley says the 17-year-old, who is believed to be the driver of the stolen car, was found in the passenger seat with a gun in his waistband.
He is accused of having a stolen gun in a different stolen car the day before, but at the time the initial reports were made, his identity wasn’t known, according to the prosecutor’s office.
“Parents have to be aware and they have an obligation to supervise and watch over their children and make sure they're doing the right thing,” O’Malley said.
O’Malley says the state of Ohio doesn’t allow parents to be held legally responsible in these types of felony cases. They can only be prosecuted in municipal court if their child violates curfew.
News 5 Investigators asked O’Malley if felt like the juvenile courts are failing the city of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, and northeast Ohio.
"I'll say this, when there's repeat occurrences of these activities, there is a failure,” O’Malley said.
If the case goes into adult court, O’Malley says the teen could face vehicular homicide or possibly murder charges.
He says the teen’s brother has been in and out of court for stolen cars and is on probation in a case right now.
O’Malley hopes to have a meeting this week to come up with a solution for repeat offenders.
He says all partners in criminal justice need to step up along with parents.
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