When 9-year-old Sebastian Amezcua was killed in December after a 15-year-old driver managed to slam his car into the Amezcua’s SUV, police and the media were united in their disgust at the inanity of it all - a 15-year-old kid steals his parents’ car, drives over the speed limit, runs a stop sign and smashes his car into an SUV that has a young family headed home for the day, with fatal consequences.

While Sebastian died the next day from brain injuries brought about by the crash, his 15-year-old brother Emmanuel and mother are still in the hospital making a slow and painful recovery.

On Thursday, the Fresno teenager at the heart of the tragedy appeared in court. His lawyer says he believes that the boy was being chased at the time of the accident, and insists that there was some damage to the rear of the car. He wants a full investigation into the circumstances leading up to the crash. It’s not clear what he means when he says his client was being chased by another car. Was there street racing involved?

For now, the boy has entered a not guilty plea, and his defense team hopes the case can be resolved without going into trial. German Amezcua insists justice will prevail, and for a grieving father’s sake, we hope it does.

If you or a loved-one has been killed or injured in a car wreck through no fault of your own, contact a California personal injury attorney at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.