SC teen admits guilt in reckless homicide golf cart crash that killed girl, 15
A Rock Hill teen has pleaded guilty to reckless homicide from a July crash that killed a 15-year-old girl on a golf cart, prosecutors said.
The boy, now 17, was driving a SUV at 68 miles per hour in a 25 MPH zone on Laurel Creek Drive before the collision with the golf cart, prosecutor Matthew Shelton said Tuesday after the teen appeared in York County Family Court.
Marlie Sullivan, 15, died at the scene. Five others were on the golf cart. Three of those people were injured, officials said.
Visiting Family Court Judge Rochelle Conits of Greenville accepted the teen’s plea Tuesday afternoon, Shelton said.
Conits also ordered the teen taken into custody for an evaluation by S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice officials before sentencing comes early next year, Shelton said. Rock Hill police charged the teen in August but he had not previously been in custody after being charged.
Juveniles convicted of crimes in Family Court typically face potential punishment that must end at age 22 or before, South Carolina law shows.
The teen driver was 16 years old at the time of the crash. He is not being named because of his age and because he is a juvenile being prosecuted in Family Court. Tuesday’s hearing was not open to the public.
The teen driver’s lawyer, Stacey Coleman of the York County Public Defender’s Office, declined comment after the hearing.
The other people on the golf cart have not been identified and the extent of their injuries has not been released.
Rock Hill High School honored Marlie Sullivan at its homecoming in October and a foundation to help others has been set up in her name.
