Police to submit fatal car crash findings to district attorney

Charges may be filed against a Minden teenager in a Sparks car accident that claimed the life of a Dayton girl, police said Tuesday.

"We will submit our recommendations to the (Washoe County) District Attorney's Office for any possible charges such as felony reckless driving causing someone to be injured," said Sgt. Michael Cardella of the Sparks Police Department. "He could possibly face manslaughter, but it's up to the district attorney when he sees the investigation report in its totality."

Reece Shelton, 18, was released Monday from Washoe Medical Center following the single-car accident on Los Altos Parkway in Sparks in which his passenger, Heather Teeter, 18, sustained fatal injuries.

According to the police report, witnesses said they saw Shelton's 1993 Honda Civic accelerate out of an apartment complex to a speed estimated at "80-plus mph."

Cardella said Shelton failed to negotiate a curve in the road and struck a 1,500-pound boulder that was in the median. The Honda flipped three times before coming to a rest 205 feet from the first impact.

Teeter was a Dayton High School graduate and former student-body president. She was on the National Honor Society and enrolled at University Nevada, Reno. She died from injuries she suffered when she was thrown from the vehicle.

A service for Teeter will be Friday at 1 p.m. at Waltons Chapel in Carson City with a burial to follow at Lone Mountain Cemetery.