Police Say Why 'Drifting' Teen Driver Not Charged in SUV Rollover Wreck

An rollover accident last month involving a newly licensed teen behind the wheel of an SUV grossly overloaded with passengers left many wondering why the young driver has not faced any criminal charges.  

Police Detective Dan Wall, who is leading the investigation into the wreck that seriously injured several of the 16 teenage party-goers crammed into the Ford Expedition that rolled over Oct. 26 on Muirlands Vista Way, gave UT San Diego an answer.

“In the event any child dies as a result of injuries they suffered in the accident, I couldn’t touch him if I give him a ticket now,” Wall said in a UT San Diego news report. “It would be double jeopardy. It’s important that everyone understand that.”

The driver, a 16-year-old boy, and his parents are being sued by one of the passengers badly injured when the SUV flipped as the result of the driver's attempt at a stunt called drifting.

The suit filed Wednesday in San Diego Superior Court is seeking an unspecified amount for injuries suffered by Gabrielle Cabrera, 14. The suit is asking for damages for current and future medical expenses and wage loss.

The suit also seeks to hold the teen driver's parents responsible as they let him use their SUV to transport friends to a party when his provisional license prohibited him from carrying passengers without an adult in the vehicle.

Drifting, popularized in the Fast and Furious movies, occurs when a driver causes a vehicle's rear wheels to slip so that the auto is driven on an angle. The driver was going 40 mph on a residential street after fleeing an unauthorized party when he attempted the sliding maneuver on a curve.

Wall told the UT the teenager could be ticketed for speeding, passengers not wearing seat belts, and violating the terms of his provisional license. He said the Department of Motor Vehicles has imposed the same penalty on the boy as he would have faced in traffic court, and that he is not legally permitted to disclose what actual punishment was imposed in him because he's a juvenile.

Wall told the UT that he's not sending a case against the boy to be prosecuted at this time.