BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Erie County District Attorney's Office announced a 16-year-old boy from Buffalo was arraigned Tuesday in Erie County Court on an indictment charging him with the following:
- Four counts of second-degree manslaughter
- One count of first-degree assault
- One count of second-degree assault
- One count of third-degree criminal possession of stolen property
The adolescent offender is accused of being behind the wheel of a stolen Kia Sportage that crashed on Route 33 near Route 198 on October 24. The driver and five passengers were in the vehicle, the district attorney's office said the five passengers were ejected from the vehicle on impact. The 16-year-old is accused of recklessly causing the death of four of the passengers. Three of the passengers were pronounced dead at the scene and the fourth passenger was pronounced dead at ECMC.
On October 25, police identified the four people that were killed:
- Marcus Webster, a 19-year-old man from Buffalo
- Swazine Swindle, a 17-year-old boy from Buffalo
- Kevin Payne, a 16-year-old boy from Buffalo
- Ahjanae Harper, a 14-year-old girl from Buffalo
The fifth passenger, a 14-year-old girl, was hospitalized but has since been released.
Police said the theft of the vehicle was possibly linked to a "Kia Challenge" on the social media platform TikTok. Kia America released a statement on the crash on October 27.
The accused 16-year-old boy was treated for minor injuries and released from the hospital. He is scheduled to return on November 28 for a pre-trial conference and was released under supervision with an ankle monitor device.
