15 Year-Old Dies, Teen Driver Charged with Vehicular Homicide

A teen was killed in a car accident along the 5 Mile Drive in Point Defiance Park on Friday evening. Today, the underage driver faced charges of vehicular homicide in Pierce County Juvenile Court, according to prosecutor Mark Lindquist.

"This is another sad reminder that drinking and driving can be deadly," said Lindquist. 

On Friday afternoon, April 12, 2013, Francisco-Andres was the driver of a car that crashed into a tree on Five Mile Drive in Point Defiance Park. One of three passengers in the car, 15-year-old A.R, died at the scene.

Francisco-Andres, A.R. and two other friends were drinking alcohol at one of the viewpoints on Five Mile Drive and the 17 year-old drove the group away from the overlook. A witness reported that the vehicle sped through a stop sign on Five Mile Drive. The car disappeared around a corner and moments later slammed into a tree. 

The car went off the roadway near the Fort Nisqually cut-off road on 5 Mile Drive, said Tacoma Police spokeswoman Loretta Cool.

The Tacoma Fire Department pronounced A.R. dead at the scene. Francisco-Andres told Tacoma Police he was the driver and admitted to consuming beer before driving. At the scene, officers recovered a backpack with several empty beer cans and at least one empty wine bottle that belonged to the teens. Francisco-Andres was transported to Mary Bridge Hospital and later booked into Remann Hall.

Due to the nature of the charge and the respondent’s age, a declination hearing to determine whether the respondent will be treated as a juvenile or an adult has been scheduled for April 25, 2013. At that time the respondent will also be arraigned on the charge.