5 Michigan teenagers face life in prison after a highway prank goes tragically wrong


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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpEii452UIk

When does a prank turn into a criminal act? When a 6-pound rock thrown of an overpass bursts through the windshield of a car traveling below and kills the passenger sitting inside.

That's allegedly what happened on Oct. 18th when 32-year-old Ken White was coming home from his construction job. While traveling along Interstate 75, approximately 80 miles north of Detroit, MI, a large rock exploded though the windshield of the van he was riding him, sticking him in the chest and face. He was pronounced dead at the hospital, according to The Washington Post.

The Root has reported the Genesee County medical examiner has confirmed the cause of death was blunt-force trauma; he suffered a broken skull, brain damage, and a cut to the chest.

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Five teenagers were arrested and charged with second-degree murder, as well as conspiracy to commit second-degree murder, and malicious destruction of property, according to CNN.

All five teenagers have been charged as adults, all have been denied bond, and each could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.

"I don't believe that this was a deliberate attempt to take somebody's life. It was a willful and wanton act that resulted in somebody's death," said Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton, according to NBC News. "These people should have known better. ... Under Michigan law, that is second-degree murder."

Besides allegedly hurling the rock that took White's life, the five teenagers reportedly threw up to 20 other rocks onto the highway, including a 20-pounder. Those rocks caused damage to several other cars on Interstate 75, according to Cleveland.com.

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Genesee County Sheriff Robert Picket said the five teenagers went out to eat at McDonalds after the rocks were thrown.

White leaves behind a fiancée and four children.

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