Teen charged in street racing crash that killed Redwood City couple to remain in custody
REDWOOD CITY -- The teen driver arrested and charged following an alleged street racing crash that killed a husband and wife in Redwood City last month has been ordered to remain in custody.
The attorney for the 17-year-old boy, whose name is not being released because he is a juvenile, had asked the judge to release him to his family.
According to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office, the teen is accused of racing 23-year-old Kyle Harrison on El Camino Real on the night of Nov. 4, leading to a crash that killed Gregory Ammen and Grace Spiridon, who were in a vehicle with their twin 7-year-old girls.
At Tuesday's hearing, the teen's attorney asked for his release, while Ammen's brother asked that the teen continue being detained. Judge Susan Etezadi ordered that he stay in custody pending further juvenile court proceedings.
The District Attorney's Office alleges that the 17-year-old and Harrison did not know each other but were at a stop light and communicated between their two vehicles to race, then took off at speeds of 80 to 90 mph when the light turned green.
Ammen and Spiridon were turning left onto El Camino Real from Finger Avenue when the teen's car struck it.
The husband and wife died at the scene but their two young girls survived. The 17-year-old and two passengers in his car were also taken to a hospital, while Harrison allegedly fled but was found more than two weeks later thanks to a witness who took a photo of his license plate.
Harrison also remains in custody under no bail status with a preliminary hearing set for Jan. 27. The 17-year-old is set to return to juvenile court on Feb. 28.
A GoFundMe account created for the daughters of the couple killed in the crash has gathered more than $554,000 as of Wednesday.
The account, created by Spiridon's sister, says the couple "were outstanding people and lights of love, support and inspiration to countless friends, family, co-workers and their community."
