Teens who pleaded guilty to throwing rock off overpass that killed man may be sentenced as adults
By Hollie Silverman, CNN
Updated 4:54 AM ET, Wed July 24, 2019
(CNN) -- Four Michigan teens who pleaded guilty to throwing a rock off a highway overpass that killed a man may be sentenced as adults, according to CNN affiliate WJRT.
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By ABC12 News Team | Posted: Tue 2:41 PM, Jul 23, 2019 | Updated: Tue 5:52 PM, Jul 23, 2019
FLINT (WJRT) (7/23/2019) – Four of five teens accused in the deadly I-75 rock throwing incident nearly two years ago are possibly are heading to prison after the judge rejected a juvenile sentence. ... Genesee County Circuit Court Judge Joseph Farah rejected a motion to send Trevor Gray, Mark Sekelsky, Alexzander Miller and Mikadyn Payne of Clio to a juvenile detention center.
That means all four will go to prison, head to trial or seek a new deal for sentencing. They have until Aug. 20 to decide whether to withdraw their guilty pleas to manslaughter. ... If they keep their guilty pleas to manslaughter, the four suspects could receive credit for 21 months they’ve spent in jail since the deadly case in October 2017. State sentencing guidelines call for a sentence of 29 months in prison, so they could be set free in February or March.
The ruling against a juvenile sentence came after a months-long hearing that included testimony from victim Kenneth White’s family, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services experts, psychologists and Department of Corrections officials.
The four suspects all were minors when they threw rocks off the Dodge Road overpass onto the southbound lanes of I-75. One of the rocks that the teens threw crashed through the windshield of a work van, hitting White of Mt. Morris in the head and causing his death. ... It was part of a game they called “Overpassing,” which they told the judge they played often. Farah expressed outrage at the crime and the lack of remorse they teens showed on SnapChat in the hours after the incident.
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= new reply since forum marked as read
A few weeks ago when I was approaching the pedestrian overpass that crosses over a busy through-street, I saw a family with three small kids at the top of the overpass. The kids were picking up grit and tiny pebbles from the walk and dropping it through the fence onto the street below as cars passed underneath at 50 mph. I was astonished that the parents were right there, stabilizing the tippy toddler and watching the other two.
I had to say something. “I’m so sorry to intrude on your family time, but shouldn’t your children be learning that they shouldn’t drop anything off the overpass?” The kids glared at me, the parents stared at me and the mom finally mumbled something about talking with the kids. I walked on, saying “people have died this way!”
I am still astounded that this is something that was being engaged in as a family activity. Perhaps I should have been less polite. 
