GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A teenager from Oklahoma is accused of pushing down the gas pedal before a deadly crash with a motorcycle this August.
Atem Mathiang, 18, has been charged with reckless driving causing death in connection to the crash that left 21-year-old Jared Gossage dead. If convicted, Mathiang could face up to 15 years in prison.
According to court documents filed in the case, Mathiang is accused of driving twice the posted speed limit at the time of the crash and accelerating quickly moments before the impact.
Data pulled from his vehicle's airbag control module showed he was driving around 47 mph in a posted 25 area. Seconds before the crash, the car was going 31 mph then accelerated rapidly to 52 mph.
The crash happened overnight on Aug. 26 in the area of Cesar E. Chavez Avenue SW and B Street SW. A vehicle had hit Gossage, who was on a motorcycle.
Passengers fled from the vehicle. Police later located Mathiang, who was driving, and one of the passengers.
Gossage died at the scene.
During a vigil days after his death, family and friends gathered to remember him as a passionate biker and a sweet friend.
"He was kind, he was loving, he was genuine, he was super intelligent, he was very talented," said Gossage's cousin Elizabeth Shoemaker. "And he was always willing to go hang out and have fun. He loved to laugh, wasn't big into the drama. He was everyone's favorite."
Gossage's family said they were horrified that the driver and his passengers would leave him for dead.
"It's very common that people keep leaving the scenes of accidents with absolutely no empathy for humanity. It's soulless, it's evil," said Shoemaker.
Mathiang is now lodged at the Kent County Correctional Facility.
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