A 17-year-old Lamborghini driver on Friday admitted to a gross vehicular manslaughter charge in a high-speed crash that killed a woman in West Los Angeles earlier this year, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
The teenager will await his sentencing at home, a spokesperson for the DA’s office said. His next court date is scheduled for June 30.
The charge stemmed from a two-vehicle collision in the area of Olympic Boulevard and Overland Avenue on Feb. 17 that took the life of 32-year-old Monique Muñoz.
She was killed when the Lamborghini slammed into her vehicle, nearly splitting the victim’s car in half, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. LAPD Capt. Brian Wendling told the Los Angeles Times that the luxury vehicle had been traveling at a “high rate of speed.”
The 17-year-old suffered moderate injuries and was hospitalized. Police arrested him nearly a week later, on Feb. 23.
Officials have not released his name due to his age, but the Times reported that he’s the son of James Khuri, a local wealthy entrepreneur — something Khuri himself later confirmed.
In an interview with a freelance news photographer last month, he said his son suffered brain damage in the crash and had just gotten out of an intensive care unit. Khuri also offered condolences to the victim’s relatives.
“I’m sorry to the Muñoz family. It is heartbreaking,” he said in the interview. “I don’t sleep anymore.”
In the wake of the crash, Muñoz’s family spoke out and demanded that the 17-year-old be tried and prosecuted to the full extent of the law as they sought justice for their loved one.
“I don’t care about anything else, I just will need the DA … to do his job,” Isaac Cardona, the victim’s stepfather, told KTLA in late February, prior to charges being filed.
The teen was formally charged by the DA’s office on April 7.
“We have concluded our review of this case and filed charges today based on the evidence and the law,” a statement from the DA’s office said that day, noting the arraignment would take place in juvenile court. “Because this case involves juvenile proceedings, we are legally barred from disclosing any further information at this time.”