The moment a teenager allegedly killed a mother and three children after crashing into their minivan at 110mph has been captured in a shocking video released by police.
Surveillance footage shows Chase Jones, 18, driving his 2015 Audi A4 at breakneck speed before crashing through the van in a Seattle suburb on March 19.
Jones was reportedly driving at 110 mph before the horrific crash at the intersection of South 192nd Street and 140th Avenue South in Renton, which caused a multi-vehicle pileup.
The victims were identified as sisters Eloise and Matilda Wilcoxson, ages 12 and 13; Buster Brown, 12; and Andrea Hudson, 38. Court documents seen by KOMO news saying they were “instantly killed” by the “incredibly violent collision.”
Hudson’s two children were also in the car but miraculously survived and are now stable after initially being taken to a Washington hospital in critical condition.
Chase Jones (pictured) appeared to grin briefly as he appeared in court via video link on Monday and pleaded not guilty to vehicular homicide and reckless driving
Surveillance footage shows 18-year-old Jones driving his 2015 Audi A4 at breakneck speed before crashing through the van at an intersection in suburban Seattle on March 19.
Appearing in court via video link from his hospital bed on Monday, Jones looked expressionless as the charges against him were read out before pleading not guilty.
At another point in the courtroom fragment published by KOMO News, he also appeared to be holding back a grin.
The teen has been charged with four counts of vehicular homicide, two counts of vehicular assault and one count of reckless driving.
The mother of the two murdered young girls, who also appeared in court via video link, said Jones had not attempted to contact the families whose lives were torn apart by the horrific crash.
“I’m a little concerned and shocked that, to my knowledge, there has been no attempt to reach us with any form of sympathy or remorse,” Rivka Wilcoxson told the court.
Prosecutors said this is not the first time Jones has been involved with law enforcement for dangerous driving.
“There is evidence that this defendant was driving at an excessive speed and struck a total of two vehicles prior to this collision,” Senior Deputy Attorney Amy J. Freedheim told the court, adding that the other crashes occurred in January of this year.
The court set Jones’ bail at $100,000 and recommended that he be placed under electronic monitoring if he posted the amount. He is also not allowed to drive.
Andrea Hudson, 38, was carpooling five children, including two of her own, when another car blew through a red light at an intersection, crashing into her van and killing her instantly.
Among the victims were sisters Eloise and Matilda Wilcoxson, 12 and 13, who are survived by their parents and four other siblings.
The crash also killed 12-year-old Buster Brown, who was described as “an exemplary son, brother and friend.”
Jones and the victims’ families appeared in court via video link on Monday
Defense attorney Brad Barshi told the court that Jones had broken arms and legs in the crash and would remain in hospital for a long time.
“My client does not steal cars, does not have a gun and is intentionally attempting to commit a violent crime,” Barshi told the court, according to KOMO News.
“This is an allegation where my client may have made a stupid mistake by speeding. That’s the claim.’
Pictured: Jones in police bodycam footage at the scene of an earlier accident
But the father of the two girls who died in the crash disagreed – pointing to Jones’ “reckless” history – but nevertheless expressed empathy for the teenager.
“Your Honor, I have no evidence of remorse or that his home environment is the right environment for him to heal and change and become the man he should become,” Chace Wilcoxson told the court, according to KOMO News.
“I have no hard evidence, but I am confident that I personally saw this car driven recklessly days and weeks before this accident. I don’t think this was just a stupid mistake.’
Bodycam footage from the scene of an earlier crash allegedly caused by Jones shows him admitting to speeding toward a police officer.
‘I saw an open road. I was definitely driving over the speed limit of 25,” Jones told the officer in May 2023. When asked to estimate his speed, he said “40 or 50.”
“He told me he was driving down the street…that guy was dragging his feet,” a KPD officer says in the video.
Jones had crashed another car and the other driver involved said he was turning when Jones, in a Chevy Tahoe, approached at a high rate of speed.
The officer let Jones go with a warning and spoke with the teen’s parents before leaving the scene.
Hudson is survived by her husband, Abe, and three children. Two of her children, 14-year-old Nolan and 12-year-old Charlotte, were in the van at the time of the crash and suffered serious injuries
The Wilcoxson sisters were described by their mother as ‘inseparable’
Jones, 18, has been charged with vehicular homicide, assault and reckless driving in connection with Tuesday’s crash. He was reportedly driving 110mph when he ‘T-boned’ Hudson’s vehicle
According to court documents, Tuesday’s pileup was the third speeding accident Jones has been involved in in the past 11 months.
Photos of the affected families were left at the scene of the accident
‘It’s a mistake, mistakes happen. There are lessons to be learned, as long as you learn them,” the officer said.
The next accident occurred in January, with another driver saying Jones was driving at such a high speed he didn’t even see him coming. KOMO.
Jones bought an Audi a month before the fatal crash, and after adding two other cars in the earlier wrecks.
The deadly crash last week left three families heartbroken at the loss of their loved ones.
“When you drive, think about the people around you,” the girls’ father, Chace Wilcoxson, previously told the Seattle Times.
‘When you’re tempted to speed, think of Andrea. When you’re tempted to pick up your phone while you’re driving, remember my beautiful girls, Matilda and Eloise.
“If you’re trying to make light, think of Buster Brown.”
According to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, all four victims died as a result of “multiple blunt force injuries.”
Hudson’s children, Nolan and Charlotte, who were also in the van, suffered brain hemorrhages, internal injuries and broken bones and were taken to Harborview Medical Center.
An adult who was in the third car that was hit in the crash suffered minor injuries.
Jones was treated for an internal injury that required surgery, as well as a broken leg and ribs.
Hudson, who led a homeschooling group, was driving the three children home when she passed through the intersection and was boned by Jones, according to court documents.
