BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Karim Reyad, the teen motorist accused of driving impaired and at high speeds in a deadly April crash, will remain out of custody for medical treatment until at least mid-December.
Reyad, 18, has been out of custody since early September to receive specialized treatment for injuries he suffered in the crash that killed Gayla Sue Price, 66. He’s charged with second-degree murder and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, among other offenses.
Judge John Oglesby on Tuesday said defense counsel had provided him with records from a Loma Linda hospital showing Reyad is receiving daily treatment and has another surgery on his leg scheduled Thursday.
Oglesby said Reyad, who was previously held without bail, will eventually return to jail, but he didn’t believe it was appropriate to send him back at this time.
The judge scheduled a hearing Dec. 14 to receive an update on Reyad’s medical status. He vacated a preliminary hearing that had been scheduled for next month.
Family of Price expressed anger and disappointment in Oglesby’s decision. Crystal Neilson, Price’s daughter, said it’s going to be difficult not having her mother around for the holidays.
“He gets to be home with his parents for the holidays, and our mom will not be here with us,” she said outside the courthouse.
Neilson said she doesn’t understand how Reyad is allowed to remain free.
“I’m just praying we get justice at the end, no matter how long it takes, that we see him back in jail,” she said.
She and other family members set up signs outside the courthouse calling for Reyad to be taken back into custody.
A passenger in Reyad’s car who was injured in the April 18 crash told police Reyad’s Dodge Charger Hellcat hit speeds of at least 120 mph, made an illegal U-turn and traveled east on Campus Park Drive, where it swerved into opposite lanes and hit Price’s Honda Civic. Price was declared dead at the scene.
Reyad’s blood tested positive for THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, according to court documents. He had been arrested a week earlier on suspicion of driving under the influence of marijuana.
Reyad suffered serious injuries to a leg. He lost an arm a year earlier in a crash in which he wasn’t at fault, his attorneys said.
