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BY MELANIE BENNETT
Knight Ridder Newspapers
COLUMBUS, Ga. - (KRT) - A 9-year-old boy has been charged with second-degree vehicular homicide in the death of his 11-year-old cousin.
The boy also was charged with running a stop sign in the go-kart he was driving Sunday. His 11-year-old cousin, Pierre Collins, was pronounced brain dead just a couple of hours after the accident; the child was removed from life support on Monday.
Columbus police said the 9-year-old was driving the go-kart on Munson Drive when he allegedly ran the stop sign at Shelby Street. A police report states a go-kart in front of him, driven by a 15-year-old, went through the intersection first and was almost hit by a 2004 Nissan Titan, driven by Phillip Torres, 65. The second go-kart, driven by the 9-year-old, went through the intersection and the right side of the go-kart hit the front left side of the truck.
The 15-year-old, who is the 9-year-old's uncle and Pierre's cousin, said earlier this week that he and the younger boys were leaving a friend's house, and he saw the truck coming toward the intersection.
"He didn't stop - he kept going," the 15-year-old said. "I looked back, and he was going too fast. I already knew they wasn't going to make it."
Police said the posted speed limit on Shelby Street is 30 mph, and that no citations are pending against Torres.
The 15-year-old said the truck dragged the go-kart before Pierre was thrown from the vehicle and landed on the sidewalk. The 9-year-old suffered minor cuts and bruises and was taken to The Medical Center, where he was treated and released.
The mother of the 9-year-old said she was at work Sunday, and her son was staying with her mother. She said she had warned her child about riding the go-kart before.
"He knows what happened, but as far as expressing how he feels or anything, he hasn't said anything about it," the mother said Monday.
"That's why yesterday I let him go see his cousin and the state he was in, to let him know how dangerous it was, and what could happen. ... It's God's gift that my son walked away."
The 9-year-old is in the custody of his family, his grandmother said Wednesday.
According to Georgia law, second-degree vehicular homicide is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail or a fine of up to $1,000.
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