KENT COUNTY, Mich. — A 16-year-old boy is facing multiple charges in connection to an alleged assault over the sale of a vape pen earlier this month.
The Kent County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday the teen suspect was arrested and shared the charges he faces Thursday:
- Assault with Intent to do Great Bodily Harm Less Than Murder
- Reckless Driving Causing Serious Impairment Of A Body Function
- Unlawful Use of a Motor Vehicle
- Failure to Stop at the Scene of a Personal Injury Accident
- Operating without a License
Deputies say the incident happened around 2 p.m. Thursday, June 16 in the area of Fruit Ridge Avenue and 20 Mile Road. A group of teenagers had been standing next to a vehicle when an argument broke out, allegedly about the sale of a vape pen.
The teen driver drove away, dragging the victim, a 17-year-old from Kent City, alongside the car. He is still in critical condition.
Deputies say it is unclear if the 17-year-old held onto someone or something inside the vehicle or if someone inside the vehicle held onto him while he was dragged.
Family of the boy identified him as Colin Rogers, and they said he's in the ICU at a Grand Rapids hospital in a coma. He suffered a shoulder separation, broken bones and brain swelling.
Colin's dad, Clay Rogers tells 13 ON YOUR SIDE he'll more than likely be in the hospital for months.
Clay explained Colin was helping his friend get his vape pen back, which the other teens had allegedly taken the day before, in exchange for $20.
But the vape pen given to them wasn't as nice as the previous one, so Colin reached his hand inside the car and then the driver took off at full speed. When the car turned onto the road is when Colin flew and was badly hurt.
"I have mixed emotions. I was a teenager one time, but I didn't do anything to hurt anybody," said Clay. "Five seconds; you stop the car and he breaks his arm and gets hurt. I can understand that. Ten seconds becomes a cognitive thought. Cognitively even as a minor you could have subjectively stopped yourself. You did not wish intent onto somebody else. Fifteen seconds; you're a POS."
All involved teenagers are between 15 and 17 years old, according to investigators.
The driver was arrested Wednesday on multiple charges and is lodged at the Juvenile Detention Center. The case is being reviewed by a juvenile prosecutor.
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