Black Teen Accused of Intentionally Striking, Killing White Skateboarder with His Car

Not trying to suggest that the victim deserved it, but what kind of 45-year-old man rides a skateboard?

KPTV:

The 18-year-old man accused of hitting and killing a skateboarder in a Vancouver parking lot on Wednesday claims he was trying to scare the victim by driving toward him, according to court documents.

Joshua Lamont Jones is facing a charge of second-degree murder. He is scheduled to make a first court appearance Thursday morning.

The charge stems from an investigation that began Wednesday when officers responded to the report of a pedestrian who was hit in a parking lot in the 5000 block of East Fourth Plain Boulevard.

At the scene, officers found a man, identified by court documents as 45-year-old William Miller, underneath a 2013 Hyundai Sonata that had been driven by Jones.

Miller was transported to an area hospital in critical condition and later died.

According to court documents, Jones told police that he was driving through the parking lot eastbound from General Anderson to avoid traffic lights on Fourth Plain Boulevard and drove past Miller, who was on a skateboard. Jones told police that Miller had an object in his hand which he thought could be a knife, according to court documents.

Court documents state that Miller struck Jones’ driver’s side window with his fist as Jones drove past. Jones told police that he was not afraid of being hurt by Miller, but was angry that Miller had struck his window.

According to court documents, Jones then made a U-turn, accelerated toward Miller and hit him. Jones told police that he intended to swerve out of the way before hitting Miller, but claimed Miller jumped in the same direction that he swerved, court documents say.

Jones told police that he intended “to scare him” by driving his vehicle toward Miller, according to court documents. He also stated that he knew if he hit Miller, he knew it would cause serious injury or death.