Teen driver denies manslaughter, reckless driving charges

By Frances Vanderploeg (contact)

Monday, Dec. 15, 2008 | 7:34 p.m.

A month after Coronado High School sophomore Olivia Brandise Hyten, 15, was killed in a car crash, the teenager driving the vehicle denied charges filed against him in Juvenile Court.

David Jensen, 16, was charged with two counts of reckless driving — one resulting in death, and one causing substantial bodily harm — and involuntary manslaughter.

He will be held in detention until a contested hearing Jan. 21, the Family Court version of a trial.

Prosecutors said Jensen was driving the truck involved in the rollover crash the evening of Nov. 14 on Grand Hills Drive near Villa Barolo Avenue. Brandise Hyten was pronounced dead just after midnight Nov. 15.

Jensen, who turned 16 less than six months ago, had one other charge on his record, a speeding citation from September for driving 48 mph in a 25 mph zone. He was sentenced to attend the Clark County Coroner's Visitation Program, a program targeting at-risk youth who have engaged in risky or reckless behavior. He did not attend the program because he was being held in juvenile detention.

"By state law, I don't believe he should have even had passengers in his vehicle," Chief Deputy District Attorney Mary Brown said.

Michael Mosley, 16, had been held in juvenile detention and was released to his parents on house arrest Nov. 24. He was driving another vehicle and was at the scene after Jensen's vehicle crashed.

Brown said prosecutors weighed filing charges against Mosley in relation to Brandise Hyten's death, but agreed Monday not to do so. He was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and possession of a spring-loaded knife that evening.

He was also being held on a July 2008 charge of reckless driving and an October 2008 charge of possession of a firearm on school property. The firearm charge involved a pellet gun.

Prosecutors initially suspected Mosley was partially at fault because of a comment made the evening of the crash by Jensen that the two were in a speed contest, Brown said. After speaking with other passengers in both vehicles, "We were not able to verify that fact," she said.

A plea hearing for Mosley is scheduled for Dec. 29. Often, these cases are resolved without a trial, Family Court Judge William Voy said.

Until then, Mosley will continue to wear a GPS device to ensure he doesn't travel anywhere except to school and his estranged parents' homes.

Frances Vanderploeg can be reached at 990-2660 or frances.vanderploeg@hbcpub.com.