A 15-year-old boy died after he suffered head trauma from falling off the car, officials said.
A New York Uber driver has been charged with second-degree manslaughter after he allegedly allowed teens to climb onto his car while he drove it, resulting in one of their deaths.
Authorities said on Sept. 24, Danyal Cheema was driving his 2010 Toyota Highlander for Uber when he picked up three teens, who had been drinking, in Huntington.
The boys reportedly gave Cheema, 24, $40 to let them “car surf” on his roof while the car was in motion.
Ryan Mullen, 15, fell off the car and suffered head trauma, which resulted in his death, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
One of the teens was also recording on Snapchat during the incident, according to officials.
Cheema brought the boys to their destination, but Mullen died from his injuries in his sleep later that day, authorities said.
“This was an incredibly bad decision by the defendant and a bad decision by the boys involved,” District Attorney Timothy Sini said in a press release. “But at the end of the day, this defendant is an adult who was contracted to safely bring those boys home, and he failed to do that.”
Sini continued on to call Cheema’s decision “reckless.”
Cheema has pleaded not guilty. Cheema’s attorney, Christopher Renfroe, said in court that his client "expressed remorse for Mullen's death," Newsday reported.
Cheema, who is held on $200,000 bail, is facing 15 years in prison.
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