An Unlicensed Teen Killed a Girl in Car Crash, Prosecutors Say. Why Were His Parents Convicted and Sentenced?

The parents of a teen driver involved in a fatal car accident in New York City last year have just been sentenced in connection to the teen victim’s death

The 14-year-old New York City girl was fatally thrown from a friend’s speeding BMW last year.

Now, the parents of the unlicensed teen driver have both been sentenced in a case the Queens District Attorney said in a statement illustrates that “the culpability in a fatal crash can go beyond the driver.”

The teen driver’s father, Sean Smith, 40, and his mother, Deo Ramnarine, 43, each pleaded guilty last month to endangering a child, according to prosecutors. Ramnarine additionally pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct.

On Monday, the father was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to, among other requirements, take a 26-week parenting class. The mother must also enroll in the parenting class, among other requirements, which, if completed, would enable her to withdraw her child endangerment guilty plea.

Related: 14-Year-Old N.Y. Girl Killed After Being Thrown from Speeding BMW Driven by 16-Year-Old

Just past 6:30 p.m. on that fateful May 2023 evening, the teen driver — who was then 16 and whose name has not been released because he is a minor — was driving a red 2005 BMW along North Conduit Avenue, going 101 miles per hour in a 30 mile per hour zone, per prosecutors.

His friend, Fortune Williams, was sitting in the passenger’s seat beside him, en route to his grandmother’s house.

Losing control of the vehicle, the teen — whose case is ongoing — rammed into a UPS truck, which spun his car across the roadway and struck a moving tractor-trailer on the roadway, per prosecutors.

Fortune jetted through the windshield and into the back of the UPS truck, causing severe head trauma, according to prosecutors, who said she was pronounced dead at the scene.

A UPS employee, who was climbing into his truck when the BMW slammed into it, was thrown to the ground and treated for injuries, per prosecutors.

In the hospital room with his son who had minor injuries, the teen’s father told police, per prosecutors, that he had bought the BMW — registered in his name — for his son, who prosecutors allege only had a junior driver’s license, which prohibited him from driving in New York City “under any circumstances.”

“Parents who provide vehicles to their children and let them drive illegally can be held responsible in the case of tragedies such as this one,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement announcing the sentencing of both parents.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Fortune’s friends and family, who PEOPLE previously reported, started a GoFundMe in her name after the crash, said she was an “an absolute delight of a child.”

The 14-year-old was remembered as “well-mannered, hard-working, very caring towards her siblings” and “filled with teenage wit and a youthful glamour only she could carry."

With a love of fashion and helping her mother in the kitchen, she had dreamed of growing up to work in the medical field, per the fundraising page that has since been removed.

Three weeks after the crash, the father of the driver claimed to the car’s insurer that his son — who he said was a good driver — had driven the BMW just twice before and that he had always accompanied his son on the drives.

However, people at the teen’s school “saw him regularly driving the same BMW,” prosecutors claimed, adding that a school administrator had contacted the parents about the teen driving to school.

The teen was also ticketed for driving without a license and driving while using a portable electronic device, per prosecutors.

The teen, now 17, was arraigned in December on a slew of charges connected to the crash, including second-degree manslaughter, three counts of second-degree assault, third-degree assault, second-degree reckless endangerment, endangering the welfare of a child, reckless driving, driving in excess of the maximum speed limit, unsafe lane change on a roadway laned for traffic, making an unlawful turn, two counts of operating a motor vehicle with a tinted windows, operating or driving a motor vehicle without a license and operating a motor vehicle in violation of a restricted permit or license.

He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the top count, per prosecutors. It was not immediately clear who he had retained as a lawyer.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.