An Oklahoma teenager is facing serious charges after police say he struck and killed a 22-year-old woman riding an electric scooter, then drove away believing he had hit a deer.
The victim, Raynesha Scyrus, was riding home from work near Rockwell Avenue and Melrose Lane in Oklahoma City on Sept. 10 when she was hit by a pickup truck driven by a 17-year-old, authorities said.
Police say the teen later told investigators he thought he had struck a deer.
But when he arrived at his mother’s workplace and family members inspected the damage to the truck, they made a horrifying discovery.
Scyrus’ body was in the truck bed.
“That’s pretty unusual,” Oklahoma City Police Master Sgt. Gary Knight said in a Crime Stoppers video. “To have a body end up in the bed of a truck … that’s certainly not something we see every day.”
According to police, the teen called his mother after the crash and drove to her workplace.
Investigators say the crash happened around 8 p.m., but officers were not called until roughly 10:15 p.m., raising questions about what happened during those two hours.
Police allege the teen had been drinking, was speeding and was using his phone while driving.
Knight said investigators believe the teen may have been recording video on his phone when he struck Scyrus.
She was pronounced dead after police were finally called to the location.
The teenager has been charged with manslaughter, DUI and leaving the scene of a fatal crash.
Because he is 17, his court records are sealed, and the case is currently being handled in juvenile court while prosecutors review his charging status.
A judge set bond at $100,000 and ordered that the teen not drive if he is released.
Scyrus’ mother, Tameka Scyrus, said she is still struggling to understand how her daughter’s body ended up in the truck and why so much time passed before police were contacted.
“I just got so many questions,” she told KWTV. “And where did that two hours go?”
She said her daughter usually rode her scooter on the sidewalk, though the sidewalk eventually ends along the route.
“I wish she would have said, ‘Momma, just come get me,’” Tameka said. “I would have came.”
A GoFundMe created for the family makes more serious allegations, claiming the teen knowingly drove around with Scyrus in the truck for roughly two hours before authorities were called.
Police have not publicly confirmed that version of events.
Tameka Scyrus said she wants the teen prosecuted as an adult.
