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Teen enters pleas in April crash that killed 1, injured 3 passengers

A Comstock Park teen is facing a minimum of nearly 2½ years in prison after pleading no contest to four felony charges stemming from a deadly crash in April that killed a passenger and critically injured three others when his car slammed into a tree.

 

A Comstock Park teen is facing a minimum of nearly 2½ years in prison after pleading no contest to four felony charges stemming from a deadly crash in April that killed a passenger and critically injured three others when his car slammed into a tree.

Armando Mendoza Jr., 18, pleaded no contest Wednesday, Jan. 18, to reckless driving causing death and three counts of reckless driving causing serious impairment.

The pleas were entered during a brief appearance before Kent County Circuit Court Judge Donald A. Johnston. Under the plea agreement, Mendoza's minimum term will range from between about 2½ years to nearly five years in prison.

The Comstock Park High School student returns to court for sentencing on March 7.

Defense attorney Kenneth Hoogeboom said Mendoza has no memory of the April 10 crash, which investigators say happened when his 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix left Vinton Avenue near Nine Mile Road NW and hit a tree at a high rate of speed.

Mendoza, who was 17 at the time, was driving with four passengers, ages 15 to 17. Mendoza was pinned in the vehicle and suffered critical injuries in the 3:42 a.m. crash in Kent County’s Alpine Township.

Alyssa Eggerding, 16, a junior at Sparta High School, died a day after the crash. Passengers Kaitlin Keeler, 15, of Comstock Park; Olivia Lawrence, 17, of Sparta and Alyssa Naughton, 16, of Walker, were injured. The victims attended Sparta and Comstock Park high schools.

At the time of the crash, Mendoza’s driver’s license only allowed him to drive with a licensed parent or a designated licensed adult who was at least 21 years of age.

The speed limit on Vinton where the accident occurred is posted at 55 mph; evidence indicates Mendoza was driving well above the speed limit, Kent County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Corey Luce said in court records.

“Passengers in the vehicle stated that the vehicle was travelling at a very high rate of speed,’’ Luce wrote in a probable cause affidavit. “One passenger observed the speedometer and it read 110 mph. Damage and scene evidence support these statements.’’

Reckless driving causing death is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Reckless driving causing serious impairment of a body function carries a five-year term.

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