An unlicensed teen driver has pleaded to several crimes in connection with a multi-car crash he caused which killed a young girl from Commerce Township and injured several others.
At a recent hearing before Judge Amanda Shelton of the circuit court’s family division, Azlaan Shah Khan of West Bloomfield pleaded no contest to manslaughter, reckless driving causing death, first-degree fleeing and eluding causing death and two counts of second-degree fleeing and eluding, and leaving the scene of an accident for the March 22, 2023 collision.
Piper Carrothers, 13, died from injuries she sustained when Khan slammed into the vehicle she was riding in at the intersection of Maple and Decker roads in Walled Lake. Piper’s younger sister and their mother — who was driving their car — suffered serious injuries and were hospitalized for days afterward. Khan also collided with two other cars, injuring three others.
Khan, 15 years old at the time, was fleeing from police in a 2023 Jeep Gladiator after running a red light at Maple Road and Pontiac Trail, then ran a second red light at Maple and Decker where the high-speed crash occurred. Khan and his passenger, Gavin Kassab of Commerce Township, fled the scene on foot. The two were identified early on as suspects but nearly two months passed before they were charged.
Kassab, 19 at the time of the crash, was alleged to have encouraged Khan to flee police. Charged with manslaughter, reckless driving causing death, first-degree fleeing and eluding causing death and two counts of second-degree fleeing and eluding, Kassab pleaded no contest to the crimes on April 8 and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 4.
A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing purposes. It can also offer some civil liability protection.
Kassab has another case in Oakland County Circuit Court, for sex crimes against a 16-year-old girl in West Bloomfield that allegedly happened in July 2022. Kassab faces two counts of aggravated child sexually abusive activity, three counts of aggravated sexually abusive activity – distributing or promoting, and five counts of using computers to commit a crime for allegedly sending harassing messages and links to explicit videos of the teen girl to her and her parents. He’s also accused of livestreaming explicit videos of the victim to his Instagram account.
Trial for those charges is scheduled to start on July 18, rescheduled from April 29.
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