A Forsyth County traffic stop turned into an afternoon of chaos in Winston-Salem on Thursday, when deputies say an unlicensed 16-year-old behind the wheel fled from law enforcement and then plowed into another car at Patterson Avenue and Germanton Road, leaving a 61-year-old driver fighting for his life.
The victim, identified as Robert Anthony Marcis, was rushed to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist with life-threatening injuries. Deputies later tracked down the teen, arrested him, and charged him as an adult. They also arrested his mother on misdemeanor counts tied to allegedly letting him drive without a license.
According to a June 19 news release cited by The Charlotte Observer, deputies first tried to pull the vehicle over around 12:26 p.m. near Indiana Avenue and North Patterson Avenue but called off that initial pursuit because of high speeds. Roughly two hours later, around 2:45 p.m., deputies spotted the same vehicle again and attempted a second stop. Investigators say the car took off, then crashed into another vehicle at Patterson and Germanton, injuring Marcis.
The 16-year-old is charged as an adult with felony assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, felony hit-and-run with serious injury or death, and felony fleeing to elude arrest. He also faces several misdemeanors, including reckless driving and driving without an operator's license.
Deputies also arrested 35-year-old Adilene Medina Callejah, accusing her of letting the teen get behind the wheel. She is charged with misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile and misdemeanor allowing an unlicensed driver to operate a vehicle. Officials say she is being held in the Forsyth County Detention Center under a Department of Homeland Security immigration detainer.
"This is truly a reminder that decisions create conditions," Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby F. Kimbrough Jr. said in the news release reported by The Charlotte Observer.
Legal implications
Under North Carolina law, an adult can be charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor for behavior that could push a juvenile toward criminal activity. That crime is defined at N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-316.1 and is classified as a Class 1 misdemeanor, according to the North Carolina General Assembly.
State motor-vehicle law also prohibits allowing an unlicensed minor to drive. That restriction appears in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-32, as published by the North Carolina General Assembly, and is likely to feature alongside the criminal counts in this case.
Teen drivers and the risk
Teen drivers are statistically among the most dangerous on the road. Motor-vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for U.S. teenagers, and new drivers have much higher fatal-crash rates per mile than more experienced motorists, according to the CDC.
Local roads have already seen how fast things can turn deadly. Earlier this spring, a separate fiery Winston-Salem chase involving an unlicensed juvenile also ended in a serious crash during rush hour.
Investigators say their work on the latest case is still underway, and no court dates have been released yet for the teen or for Callejah. As detectives piece together the timeline, the sheriff's office is underscoring a blunt lesson for parents and guardians: hand over the keys to an unlicensed driver, and you may be the one answering for the fallout.
