GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – A teen accused of killing two people after leading police on a high speed chase has rejected a plea deal and will go to trial.
Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker tells FOX 17 that Alex Torrez has rejected a plea deal and will face trial.
Torrez was bound over for trial in May on two charges of murder, 2nd degree. He is being charged as an adult.
Torrez is accused of leading police on a high speed chase in March that hit speeds up to 116 mph before ending in a crash that killed his passenger, his 15-year-old cousin David Torres, and 21-year-old Calvin College student, Tara Oskam, who was in a second vehicle.
Dash-cam video from that night shows Michigan State Police Trooper Chris Bommarito trying to stop Torrez for speeding at 90 mph on US-131, but when Torres pulled off the freeway he took off. MSP Sgt. James Campbell, a traffic reconstruction expert, says Torrez hit speeds of 116 miles per hour and did not slow down before crashing into Oskam’s car at the intersection of Broadmoor and 52nd Street in Kentwood.
Oskam was a junior at Calvin College and was returning to the school after an evening at church.
State records showed that Torrez did not have a valid driver’s license at the time of the crash. He also has a criminal history of stealing a car and carrying concealed brass knuckles and a knife.
