Court Rules Parents Are Responsible for Unlicensed Teen Driver’s Fatal Crash

A Queens Criminal Court sentenced the parents of a teenage driver Monday for crimes their then-16-year-old allegedly committed back in May of 2023. This prosecution is believed to be the first of its kind—at least in New York—in which the parents are held responsible for the actions of their children.

On May 17, the now-17-year-old was allegedly driving at 101 mph in a 2005 BMW 3 Series on North Conduit Avenue in Queens when he lost control and crashed into a parked UPS truck. The teenage driver still had a junior license, which means he was supposed to be driving with a 21-year-old adult, or older, in the passenger seat. However, instead of an adult, 14-year-old Fortune Williams was in the car with him. Tragically, Williams didn’t survive the crash. According to NBC4 New York, the teenage driver—whose name has been withheld due to his age—is being charged with several crimes, including manslaughter.

Since the driver is still a teenager that required the supervision of an adult, his parents—Sean Smith, 40, and Deo Ramnarine, 43—pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child. Smith is the one who bought the teen driver the BMW, and both parents were allegedly aware their son was driving the car illegally but did not stop him. A school administrator notified the parents that their son was driving to school, and he was reportedly given a ticket in 2022 for driving without a license.

Smith was the only parent to be sentenced to probation—three years worth—but both will have to attend a 26-week parenting class and a Victim Impact Panel Program.

The teenage driver was reportedly doing 101 mph on a 30-mph street when he hit the UPS truck, ejecting Williams from the passenger seat. Williams was pronounced dead at the scene. The UPS driver was getting into his truck when it was struck, and he was thrown to the ground with several injuries. Thankfully, he survived.

“The parents of a 16-year-old gave their son a BMW when he did not have legal authority to drive it anywhere in New York City. We allege that because of that teenager’s actions, 14-year-old Fortune Williams is now dead after she was thrown from the car when it crashed into a UPS truck at more than 100 miles an hour,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. “With this conviction, we have shown that the culpability in a fatal crash can go beyond the driver. 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. We will continue to seek justice for Fortune Williams and her grieving family.”

The teenage driver faces many charges: second-degree manslaughter, three counts of assault in the second degree, assault in the third degree, reckless endangerment in the second degree, endangering the welfare of a child, operating a motor vehicle without a license, driving in excess of the speed limit, and driving with tinted windows. The maximum sentence is 15 years in prison.

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