Kingman resident Brady Schaller, 16, has been indicted as an adult and could face a lengthy prison sentence for a traffic fatality charge. A Mojave County grand jury on Thursday filed an indictment against Shuffler with two counts of second-degree murder and four counts of aggravated assault.
The charges follow an investigation into the April 13 highway crash that claimed the lives of Tatum Maines, 17, and Shereen Shiri Walema, 15. Shuffler was also seriously injured, as were Canon Kovanovich and Riley Feil, both 16.
All five teenagers involved in the lone vehicle rollover were student-athletes attending Lee Williams High School.
The indictment also reports that marijuana was detected in Mr. Shuffler’s bloodstream and charges him with disability-related charges. The number of crime victims correlates with utility poles destroyed when they were hit by a 2020 Dodge Charger Scat Pack Widebody piloted by Shuffler.
A police report released after the indictment said Schaller’s group, along with other teens, were at a popular coffee shop on Stockton Hill Road and occupied another vehicle. Both groups had returned to their homes in the Rancho Santa Fe area before the accident, the newspaper said.
Teenagers in other vehicles told police they had run in front of the Charger on Louise Avenue before the Charger passed “really fast”. They told officers they saw Charger leave the roadway in front of them.
According to a report filed by Police Officer Eric Urquijo, an investigation found that Shuffler lost control of his Charger while cruising over hills and potholes in the roadway, speeding at an estimated speed of 160.9 mph in a 40 mph range. It was presumed that he was out. He rolled over and over, before getting his wheels up and coming to rest.
“The top of Car 1 directly hit two adjacent UniSource Electric utility poles,” the report said. “The smaller of the two had been cut from the base and crumbled.”
All four passengers were thrown out when the car overturned, and Mr. Shuffler was stuck with his legs caught in the vehicle. Mr. Shuffle was distraught at the scene.
“He was screaming in pain and yelling to the effect that he didn’t want to live, he just wanted to die,” Urquijo’s story said.
Schaller’s father told police his son told him he was driving about 110 mph at the time of the accident, according to a police report.
Maines died at the scene and Walema died after being transported to Kingman Regional Medical Center. All three boys were taken to Sunrise Medical Center in Las Vegas for treatment for various serious injuries.
Attorney Brad Rideout will continue to represent Schaller.
“These charges are accusations and my client is pleading not guilty,” Rideout said.
Mr. Shuffler has been instructed to appear for the first time at the Mojave County Superior Court on August 28 for the arraignment.
