Teen driver faces manslaughter case after alleged drag race
Cory Gloe wasn’t directly involved in a fatal car crash in New York’s Nassau County last year.
But the 18-year-old is facing criminal charges, including manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, on the theory that he goaded another driver into participating in a street race, reports Newsday (sub. req.)
Tristan Reichle, 17, died in the May 2014 crash, along with four passengers. Officials said Reichle veered across the median, where he struck an oncoming SUV, without making contact with Gloe’s car. Two people in the SUV were injured. Court records show Reichle had a blood-alcohol level of 0.07, making him legally impaired under state law, the newspaper says.
“The evidence presented to the grand jury clearly showed that the risks of street racing were apparent and foreseeable,” states a court filing by the Nassau County district attorney’s office.
But Gloe’s lawyer says there is no persuasive proof that his client was involved in a drag race, or even speeding. “This evidence proves that it was Reichle himself who caused the tragic accident that ended his life and the life of his teenager passengers,” wrote lawyer Stephen LaMagna in a motion to dismiss the charges against his client.
