NBC affiliate KGET reports that a Kern County Judge has ordered a motorist linked to a high-speed DUI crash that killed a grandmother to be released so he can receive medical treatment.
Court documents indicate that on April 25, Karim Reyad, 18, driving a 2019 Charger Hellcat, blew through a stop sign and collided with a Honda Civic driven by a 66-year-old grandmother. Police and paramedics responding to the crash declared the woman dead at the scene.
Police investigators allege that Reyad was intoxicated at the time. He was charged with second-degree murder, gross vehicular manslaughter, DUI, and other related charges. Reyad pleaded not guilty to the charges. In June, a judge ordered Reyad to be held without bail.
A passenger who was also in the Charger testified that Reyad was going 80 and 120 miles per hour and driving like a maniac just before the fatal crash.
On Tuesday, Judge John Ogelsby said that Ryad would be released from custody to undergo ongoing treatment for leg injuries he suffered in the crash at a San Bernardino County hospital.
Prosecutors advised the court that Reyad may flee if released. Judge Ogelsby sternly told them that since no one could show Reyad could be treated in jail at a local medical facility, he would release the defendant only for as long as the treatment took.
The defendant will only be able to travel between his parent’s home and the hospital and will be fitted with an ankle monitor.
A victim’s family member told KGET reporter Kaley Brown Soren that the family is still devastated after the loss of their grandmother.
“We are outraged, we’re hurting, and we are grieving still,” she said.
