Teen to stand trial in fatal hit-and-run case

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- The teen accused of being the driver in a fatal hit-and-run crash will stand trial in the case.

A judge previously ruled the girl not competent to stand trial in this case, however, a doctor told the court the girl was likely to regain competency.

The teen is accused in the fatal hit-and-run crash that killed 57-year-old Ronald Forbes on Monday, August 6th. Forbes was riding to work on his bicycle when he was struck near 65th and Hampton in Milwaukee.

The criminal complaint in the case indicates the teen and another person had stolen the car from a home on N. 39th St. The girl was seen driving the vehicle at a high rate of speed. According to the passenger in the car who talked to police, the girl was warned to watch out for the bicyclist. The complaint says the teen seemed to be driving right toward the victim intentionally.

Ronald Forbes

The complaint says after striking Forbes, the girl “was laughing about striking the victim stating something like, ‘He shouldn’t have been in the street.’”

After some investigation, officers tracked the girl down at a home on N. 39th St.

The teen told police: “I was going fast, about 80 mph and the music was loud.” She told officers she went through a red light at 68th and Hampton, and then through a second light. Moments later, she apparently “saw a lot of traffic then heard a ‘bump or boom’ noise and turned around.”

Immediately after the crash, the complaint indicates the girl turned the corner, parked the car and jumped into another vehicle that had pulled up behind her. She asked the boys in that vehicle to take her home. On the way home, that vehicle ran out of gas and the complaint says “she tried to steal another van to get home.”

If convicted, the teen faces up to 60 years in prison.

Related stories: