Driver charged for killing 16-year-old pedestrian in Minneapolis
File photo.
MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) - A 36-year-old Minneapolis man has been charged for fatally hitting a pedestrian while speeding away from police, according to the Hennepin County Attorney's Office.
Last week, 16-year-old Diana Garcia-Alvarado of Phoenix, Az. died after Howard William Amos struck her with his SUV in Minneapolis. Officials say he was speeding and lost control of the vehicle.
According to the criminal complaint, on Sept. 2 around 9:55 p.m., police started following Amos' black SUV after they saw him run over the center median at 33rd Avenue North and continue driving at a high speed on Emerson Avenue North. When officers turned on their lights, Amos increased his speed to at least 55 miles per hour and ran through a stop sign at 34th Avenue.
Garcia-Alvarado's boyfriend told police that he and his girlfriend had walked to the store and were on their way home when they heard the police sirens and saw the car coming their way. They were standing on the grassy median of the roundabout at 36th and Emerson, but Garcia-Alvarado got scared and ran across the street and got onto the far curb. The SUV hit the roundabout, causing it to bounce over to the curb where she was standing.
After the crash, Amos ran away. Police later caught up to him where they found him trying to drive a car away in an apparent carjacking. Three women and two children were inside the car.
Crews took Garcia-Alvarado to the hospital, where she later died. According to the complaint, she was 12 weeks pregnant.
“This case is so sad because police were trying to pull Mr. Amos over because they knew his speeding in a residential area could cause just this kind of tragedy,” said Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman. “Worse, Ms. Garcia-Alvarado had reached the safety of the other curb, but Mr. Amos’ inability to control his vehicle pushed the SUV into that normally safe area, taking a young life.”