Teen faces charges in crash killing 15-year-old girl

A 16-year-old boy without a driver’s license has been charged after the car he was driving crashed into a tree, killing one of his teenaged passengers.

Authorities say the teen was driving with two female passengers on Whitehill, north of Casino on Detroit’s east side when he lost control of the vehicle. He allegedly was speeding in the area where the posted speed limit is 25 mph.

The 15-year-old girl who died was a front seat passenger. She is identified as Eliza Fletcher and is also known as Jadeliza Wright-McClain. The Detroit resident was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, which occurred at about 1:30 a.m. Sunday.

A 16-year-old Detroit girl in the back seat survived and was taken to a hospital. The driver was also taken to a local hospital for injuries. He has been released and was charged Tuesday with manslaughter with a motor vehicle, reckless driving and two moving violations.

The teen, whose identity is being withheld because of his age, is being held at the Wayne County Juvenile Detention facility on a $25,000, 10-percent bond pending his next court hearing. A pretrial is scheduled for 9 a.m. Oct. 3 before Wayne County juvenile court judge Christopher Dingell.

bwilliams@detroitnews.com

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