Gardena Boy, 9, Is Placed on Probation After Killing Driver in High-Speed Chase

A 9-year-old Gardena boy was put on five years’ probation and placed in a foster home Thursday after he admitted committing involuntary manslaughter when a car he was driving during a 100-m.p.h. police chase struck and killed a man.

The youngster was taken from his parents and handed to juvenile authorities immediately after Inglewood Juvenile Court Judge Charles Scarlett heard testimony at the closed hearing, prosecutors said. He will remain in a foster home and receive counseling and supervision until authorities determine that he can return to his parents, prosecutors said.

The boy, whose name was not released because of his age, took his parents’ car for a joy ride as they slept one evening last January, Gardena police said. After hitting four parked cars and a house, the youngster led police on a high-speed chase that ended when he ran a red light at Normandie Avenue and Imperial Highway, broadsiding a car driven by Bobby N. Colvin, 36, of Inglewood, according to police reports.

Pronounced Dead at Scene

Colvin, a math teacher and the father of four, was pronounced dead at the scene. The boy, who was pulled from the car as it burst into flames, suffered a broken leg and other minor injuries.

According to Gardena police, the boy had a previous driving history. When he was 7, they said, he jumped into a neighbor’s car in Torrance, where his family then lived, drove the car in reverse and crashed into a building.

After that incident, the youngster was charged with driving a car without the owner’s consent and was placed in a counseling program.

After the January incident, Sharon Colvin, 30, the victim’s common-law wife, said she thought the boy should be put away for the safety of the community. Colvin was the mother of three of the victim’s children, ages 3, 2 and 1. Colvin also had a 13-year-old son.

“He killed my husband and left my babies without a father,” Colvin said in an interview Wednesday. “I’m paying now because he’s not getting the kind of guidance he needed. Something needs to be done so we won’t have to see him again in the courts.”

But on Thursday, Colvin said she was satisfied with the judge’s decision.

Samuel Reece, an attorney for Sharon Colvin who attended college with the victim, said he plans to file a lawsuit against the city of Gardena and its Police Department for failure “to implement the proper procedure for cordoning off this kid (during the police chase), which resulted in his taking off and crashing.”

Reece said he already filed such a claim with the city, which was rejected.