A 14-year-old boy suspected of stealing a car and fatally striking a 9-year-old girl with it may have a troubled past, according to neighbors who know him.
Authorities are continuing to investigate the various circumstances leading up to the death of 9-year-old Amirah Kinlaw, but as they do, neighbors in the 900 block of Ramsay St. in the city's Pigtown neighborhood said the boy was taken into custody Thursday night, hours after the crash that killed the girl and injured three others.
One of those victims was a man who was injured when the Nissan Sentra he was driving collided with the stolen Jeep Liberty driven by the boy.
A school crossing guard was treated and released after being hit by the vehicle as well. A 9-year-old girl was hit with debris as the cars collided, police said, but was treated and released.
"The suspect will be charged as a juvenile with vehicular manslaughter, auto theft, and a host of other traffic related charges," said TJ Smith a Baltimore Police spokesman at an afternoon press conference.
Neighbors familiar with the boy and his family said he was being raised by a single mother who worked multiple jobs to support him and his sister, and that was enrolled in a west Baltimore charter school and had recently fallen in with a bad group of friends.
Neighbors also said the stolen car police say he was driving when he plowed into Kinlaw was not the first time he contemplated car theft. Just recently, they said, the boy was caught by police trying to break into cars.
Before the afternoon press update, Kinlaw's father, Leon Carter, said he took mercy on the 14-year-old that police said killed his little girl, saying he'd rather spend his energy remembering the girl who lit up his life.
"The loss of my little girl is going to hurt, but i know where she at now, so she can rest in peace," Carter said.
