Teen Pleads Guilty For Stolen Hummer Crash
A 19-year-old man has pleaded guilty in connection with a crash that killed a 47-year-old man last year. The teenager is known to police as a chronic car thief. Last December, the accused, who was 18 at the time, stole a Hummer and went joy riding. The Hummer sped through a stop sign at Alfred Avenue, smashing into another vehicle. Forty-seven-year-old Zdzislaw Andrzejczak, a husband and father, died from injuries after being hit by the Hummer.
The 19-year-old man pleaded guilty Monday in court to criminal negligence causing death. In 2008, the teen was riding in one of two stolen vehicles involved in a deadly crash on Portage Avenue that killed cab driver Antonio Lanzellotti. The 19-year-old was underage at the time, which is why CTV News is not naming him. Another high-risk car thief was behind the wheel in the Portage Ave. crash and was just 14 at the time.
A sentencing date for the Alfred Avenue crash will be set at the end of the week. His prior crimes will be considered in sentencing. The 19-year-old's lawyer has asked for that report, along with a Gladue assessment, which is used for aboriginal offenders. "(It's) to look into the offenders home community to look for any institutional or systematic problems coming out of that particular community and how those have affected the offender," said Michelle Bright.
Andrzejczak's family said it is relieved the teen has pleaded guilty for the Alfred Avenue crash. "It puts him behind the wheel of the Hummer and we don't have to go through the whole process proving it was him," said Kamil Andrzejczak. His father was killed in the crash. Kamil also said he hopes other don't have to experience what his family went through. "I wish people could understand but I hope they never do understand. I hope they don't have to go through the same thing," he said. A sentence could be handed down in January.