LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – The teen son of a wealthy businessman has avoided prison time — but will serve several months in a juvenile camp — for a high-speed Lamborghini crash in West Los Angeles back in February of 2020 that killed a 32-year-old woman.
Feb. 17, 2020. (CBSLA)
The now 18-year-old boy, who was 17 at the time of the crash, was sentenced Thursday to 7 to 9 months in a juvenile camp.
Juvenile Court Judge Sabina A. Helton ordered the teen to be taken into custody immediately after the hearing, which stretched over four days and included emotional statements from the teen, his mother and the victim’s family members and friends.
On the evening of Feb. 17, 2020, the teen was behind the wheel of a Lamborghini SUV traveling east on Olympic Boulevard when it collided with a four-door Lexus which was turning left onto Overland Avenue.
The driver of the Lexus, 32-year-old Monique Munoz, who was heading home from work, died at the scene. Los Angeles police investigators determined the Lamborghini was going over 100 miles per hour at the time of the collision.
At his arraignment in April, the boy admitted to a petition for vehicular manslaughter.
Monique Munoz. (Family photo)
Family and friends of Munoz had demanded that the boy be charged as an adult. Munoz’s family argued the teen was receiving special treatment because his family is wealthy and well connected. They also alleged that charges were not quickly filed against the teen — the case was filed in April — because of the wealth and influence of his father, James Khuri, described by Forbes as a multimillionaire who owns several real estate firms, manufacturing companies and an e-commerce business.
“Please know that I am so deeply sorry from the bottom of my heart,” the boy said in court Thursday. “I hate myself because I am so ashamed at what I’ve done…I’m so broken inside. I don’t want to live sometimes.”
He swore that he would never hurt anyone on purpose and said he takes “full responsibility for causing Monique’s death.”
“I accept what’s coming to me,” he said.
“The tragedy that occurred on that day was a long time in the making,” Helton said, calling it an “avoidable accident.”
Helton noted that the boy had been given a “very high-performance car” and that his parents were aware he had received two citations in 2020 from Beverly Hills police including one in which the vehicle was impounded and subsequently returned to the teen.
“I do believe that you regret what happened,” Helton told the teen.
LAPD Capt. Brian Wendling told the Los Angeles Times the Lamborghini driver’s arrest was only delayed by the fact that he had to be hospitalized for injuries sustained in the crash.
Relatives told CBSLA that Munoz worked as a receptionist and had aspired to go to law school.
Her uncle Richard Cartier told reporters outside court Thursday, “This guy was a racer and a killer. That’s what he was…This guy was meant to kill somebody and he sure did. He killed my niece…I have no more nieces. As I’ve stated earlier, when my niece went away, my soul went with her.”
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
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