An 18-year-old man faces a charge of reckless driving in connection with the March 31 “car-surfing” accident at the Kent-Meridian High School parking lot that resulted in the death of fellow student Lupo Benson, 18.
King County prosecutors on Aug. 7 charged Tyler T. Reber, of Black Diamond, a 2015 Kent-Meridian graduate, with reckless driving, a gross misdemeanor. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Aug. 20 at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. If convicted as charged, Reber, who is not in custody, could face up to one year in jail.
Kent Police initially investigated Reber for vehicular homicide after interviewing witnesses and reviewing security camera footage of the incident. Reber was driving a SUV through the school parking lot as Benson gripped the back edge of the hood near the windshield, with his chest on the hood and his feet toward the front of the vehicle, according to charging papers.
Reber backed the SUV out of a parking spot and then appeared to rapidly accelerate through the parking lot at about 15-20 mph and then made a sharp left turn. As Reber made the turn, Benson slid off the hood, his feet appeared to land first, but the momentum of his upper body continued toward the ground and the back of Benson’s head hit the pavement hard. Benson, a senior, died the next day at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle from the head injury.
This marks the first “car-surfing” case filed in King County, said Dan Donohoe, spokesman for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. He said there were a couple of reasons to file a reckless driving charge rather than a vehicular homicide charge.
“We consulted with the victim’s family during our charging decision,” Donohoe said. “We balance out the wishes of the victim’s family and the circumstances of the crime.”
In the charging papers against Reber, prosecutors say that he drove a motor vehicle with willful and wanton disregard for the safety of persons and property.
Prosecutors also said Reber has no criminal or traffic history and that the state doesn’t oppose to his release on personal recognizance on the condition that he not drive a vehicle without a valid license and insurance and have no more moving violations. If the King County Superior Court judge agrees, that means Reber would remain free after his arraignment instead of being sent to jail.
In a similar 2013 case in Salem, Ore., a 16-year girl pleaded guilty in 2014 to criminally negligent homicide in Marion County after she drove a car in a store parking lot that resulted in the death of a 17-year-old girl who was riding atop a vehicle in what’s known as “car surfing.”
The driver received five years probation, prohibition against driving for five years and 120 hours of community service, including presentations to area high schools about the dangers of “car surfing,” according to a report on statesmanjournal.com.
