A 16-year-old Michigan boy has been charged in the crash that claimed the life of Flint Police Cpt. Collin Birnie, the Genesee County Prosecutor’s Office announced on Wednesday.
A petition was subsequently filed by prosecutor David Leyton in Genesee County Family Court requesting that the teen be trialed as an adult in Family Court on felony manslaughter with a motor vehicle and reckless driving causing death.
Both felonies carry a maximum penalty of 15 years in jail.
On Feb. 4, 2022, Captain Birnie died in a car accident while driving home in Mt. Morris Township, police said. His Chevy Tahoe was hit head-on by a Chevy Traverse on Elms Road, between Mt. Morris and Frances roads.
The teen was attempting a dangerous stunt by trying to pass multiple vehicles at a very high rate of speed, prosecutors said in a news release. As the cars he began to pass slowed down to allow him back into the southbound lane, the teen lost control of his vehicle and crossed into the northbound lane, hitting Birnie’s Chevrolet Tahoe.
Birnie, who was on duty at the time of the crash, was rushed to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead, prosecutors said.
Mt. Morris Township Police Chief Michael Veach previously said the teen driver was a juvenile with a driver’s license, Mlive reported.
Birnie was a staple in the Flint police community. He was the Police Officers Labor Council president for the Flint Captains and Lieutenants Association.
