'Twins’ parents killed in crash by Redwood City street racer, convicted'
This week, a street racer who caused a terrible crash that left twin girls without a parent pleaded not guilty to vehicle murder.
The 25-year-old Redwood City driver Kyle Harrison was racing his BMW on El Camino Real against a youngster in a Mercedes. The Mercedes crashed into a family’s Chevrolet Bolt.
The dangerous race took place in Redwood City on November 4, 2022. According to the police, the street racers did not know each other.
However, when they both stopped at a red light, they revved their engines and planned to race when the light turned green.
Prosecutors say the two cars were going between 80 and 90 miles per hour when the Bolt was hit and thrown into the air.
Grace Spiridon, who drove the Bolt, and her husband, Gregory Ammen, were both killed when it hit the ground. Prosecutors wrote that the parents were killed “right away.”
Madison and Olivia, their twin 7-year-old girls, “miraculously survived” in the back seat, according to the prosecutors.
Spiridon had two MBAs, one from UC Berkeley and one from Columbia University. He loved running really much.
Not long before the accident, she was promoted at her Google job. The Mercedes was going too fast and hit Spiridon, her family, and herself as they were trying to get to their home in San Carlos.
The 17-year-old driver of the Mercedes was also hurt in the crash and was found at the scene.
Prosecutors say that a witness took a picture of the BMW’s license plate number with her cell phone camera before Harrison drove off.
Two weeks later, police found Harrison and put him in jail.
Niall McCarthy, the lawyer for the victims’ families, has said before, “This case comes from a brutal disregard for human life.” A lot of people in the Bay Area race cars on the street, putting other people’s lives at risk.
Morales is 19 years old now. During the summer, prosecutors pushed to move his case from juvenile court to adult court.
Judge Susan Irene Etezadi of San Mateo County Superior Court said no to the attorneys’ request, so the case is still in juvenile court. The case against Morales will start on Thursday in San Mateo County Juvenile Court.
Harrison pleaded not guilty on Monday to felony vehicle manslaughter and speeding in a way that killed someone. On December 2, Judge Sean Dabel will give him his sentence. Harrison could go to state jail for nine years and four months.
A GoFundMe page raised $500,000 to help the girls who had lost their parents.
The page says, “Two lovely souls died, leaving two wonderful girls without parents.” Many of their friends, family, coworkers, and people in the community loved, supported, and were inspired by Grace and Greg. Madison and Olivia were the most important things to them.
