Oklahoma City, OK — A 17-year-old teenager allegedly struck and killed a 22-year-old woman riding an electric scooter before driving to his mother’s workplace with her body in the bed of his truck, according to police.
The teenager allegedly told investigators that he thought he had hit a deer while driving along a dark road. Instead, police say, he had struck Raynesha Scyrus, who was riding her electric scooter home from work near Rockwell Avenue and Melrose Lane.
The crash reportedly happened around 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10, but police were not called until approximately 10:15 p.m., according to local reports.
When the teenager arrived at his mother’s workplace, police said the damage to the truck led to the discovery of Scyrus’ body in the truck bed.
Police call the circumstances unusual
The circumstances surrounding the discovery immediately raised questions for investigators.
Master Sergeant Gary Knight with the Oklahoma City Police Department described the situation as highly unusual in a Crime Stoppers video broadcast by a local news outlet.
“That’s pretty unusual,” Knight said. “To have a body end up in the bed of a truck. … That’s certainly not something we see every day.”
Knight said investigators examining the damage to the vehicle discovered that a body was in the truck bed.
According to police, the teenager may have been shooting video with his phone while driving. Authorities also say he admitted to using his phone behind the wheel.
Police allege that the teen was intoxicated and speeding when he struck Scyrus.
Officers were eventually called to the teenager’s mother’s workplace, where Scyrus was pronounced dead.
Victim’s mother left with unanswered questions
For Scyrus’ family, the circumstances surrounding her death have raised painful questions about what happened during the roughly two-hour period between the reported crash and the police response.
Tameka Scyrus, Raynesha’s mother, told that she struggled to understand the teenager’s claim that he thought he had struck a deer.
“I just got so many questions,” Tameka Scyrus said.
She also questioned why the teenager would have believed it was a deer.
“I never seen a deer around here,” she told the station. “And where did that two hours go?”
Tameka said her daughter generally rode her scooter on the sidewalk, although the sidewalk eventually ends.
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She expressed regret that her daughter had not asked her for a ride home.
“Everybody don’t have cars,” she said. “I wish she would have said, ‘Momma, just come get me.’ I would have came.”
Teen faces multiple charges
The 17-year-old driver is facing charges of manslaughter, DUI and leaving the scene of a fatal crash, according to police.
Because the suspect is a minor, his court records have been sealed due to his age. A judge reportedly set his bond at $100,000 and ordered that he not drive if released.
The teenager is being handled through juvenile court, although authorities are reviewing his formal charging status. Tameka Scyrus has said she wants the teenager to be charged as an adult.
A GoFundMe created for the Scyrus family makes additional allegations about what happened after the collision. The fundraiser claims the teenager knowingly drove around with Scyrus in the back of his truck for about two hours. Those allegations have not been independently established by police in the information provided.
Family waits for answers after fatal crash
The death has left Scyrus’ family struggling to understand how a trip home from work ended in tragedy.
Tameka told that she did not learn what had happened to her daughter until later and said she could not bring herself to see her daughter’s body.
“I didn’t find out until she was already gone, like a day later,” she said. “I can’t see her body. I can’t do this, I can’t do this.”
The investigation remains focused on the circumstances of the collision, the teenager’s actions afterward and the charges he now faces.
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