Cinnaminson Man Pleads Guilty In Accident That Killed Teen: Cops

CINNAMINSON, NJ — A Cinnaminson man has pleaded guilty to causing an accident that killed a 15-year-old girl in Cinnaminson in 2017, Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina announced on Tuesday.

Isaiah Buchanan, 18, pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated manslaughter in the accident that killed 15-year-old Kassidy Bush on Nov. 15, 2017. This was the first time Buchanan has been identified because he was a juvenile at the time of the accident. In exchange for the plea, Buchanan faces 14 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 7.

The car was reportedly stolen out of Cinnaminson on Nov. 15, 2017. When police attempted to pull the car over, the driver refused to stop and a chase ensued, police said. During the chase, the car rear-ended a tractor trailer while speeding on Route 130 in Cinnaminson at about 10:30 a.m., according to Coffina. Bush, who was a student at Palmyra High School, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Buchanan was admitted to Cooper University Hospital in Camden and released a few days later. The driver of the tractor trailer wasn’t injured. Buchanan was using cocaine, marijuana and Xanax prior to the collision, according to toxicology tests conducted on blood drawn from him.

The Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office successfully argued that he be waived up from juvenile court and tried as an adult.

Buchanan is being prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Courtney J. O’Brien, supervisor of the BCPO Family Unit. The investigation was conducted by the Prosecutor’s Office, with assistance from the Evesham Township Police Department. The lead investigator was BCPO Detective Melvin Rogers.

See related: Charges Filed In Death Of Teen Killed In Cinnaminson Accident

Image via Shutterstock