Police say Beckham Keneth Severight was behind the wheel of a speeding BMW when it struck and killed a 61-year-old cyclist on Wellington Crescent Thursday morning.
I'm curious to know how they know he was speeding at the time. I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume so given that the driver was 19 and driving a BMW but that certainly wouldn't (and shouldn't) hold up in court.
Presumably they either have him on a speed camera near the accident or there were witnesses. I'm sure any lawyer could get witness testimony of the driver's speed made inadmissible though, as it's not like someone walking down the street would have clocked him with radar. His speed could have also been estimated from his cellphone GPS and I'd assume the prosecutor would be getting a warrant for that info.
Regardless, when the cops say "speeding" do they mean actual speeding or technical speeding like going 55 in a 50 zone? That should certainly factor into his charge of dangerous driving.
Obviously this kid did something awful (if guilty), but in my opinion it's the dangerous driving that should be the real factor in this case. A hit and run is terrible and he should be punished as such, but people react unpredictably in stressful situations, and a 19-year-old probably doubly so. I could see some leniency there being appropriate if it turns out he was otherwise driving appropriately. If he was indeed driving recklessly, that's another matter entirely.