Background: News footage from Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, following the fatal incident involving Sunita Balogun in October 2021 (WISN). Inset: Image of Sunita Balogun (Konrad-Behlman Funeral Homes).
A teenager from Wisconsin was sentenced to prison for multiple decades after hitting and killing a woman with her own vehicle, as she tried to prevent him from stealing another car.
Now 16-year-old Jayden Adams entered a guilty plea for second-degree reckless homicide and unauthorized use of a vehicle, following initially facing a series of felony accusations related to the demise of 47-year-old Sunita Balogun. Adams, who was 13 at the time of the incident in October 2021, confessed to running over Balogun as she tried to stop him and four other teenagers from committing a car theft in a hotel parking lot.
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According to court records, Adams originally faced six felony charges, including first-degree reckless homicide; hit-and-run resulting in death; taking a vehicle without the owner”s consent by use or threat of force; and knowingly operating a motor vehicle without a valid license, causing death.
A criminal complaint, obtained by Law&Crime, included a statement from one of the other teenagers involved in the incident. After he identified Adams in surveillance photos from the hotel, he explained that the group went out that night “with the intent to steal a vehicle.”
While the group of kids was attempting to steal a red Hyundai, they were interrupted by Balogun, who pulled up next to them in her Jeep SUV. She then parked the SUV and got out of her vehicle to confront them again. The teen who provided the statement said that he and another teen left the scene while Adams and two other teens stayed behind to argue with Balogun.
One of the other teens punched Balogun in the face, then Adams got into the driver’s seat of her SUV and “kicked the door into the victim’s face,” seemingly after Balogun ended up on the ground. Adams then ran over her head.
Several of the teens got back into the car with Adams, who then fled the scene. When asked by his friends, “What did you do?” Adams responded that he “killed that lady.”
According to the criminal complaint, another teenager told police that she yelled at Adams, “Jayden, you runned [sic] her over, there’s blood gushing out of her head.” Another teenager admitted to police that they never checked on Balogun, who had been pronounced dead at the scene.
Balogun’s Jeep was recovered the next day.
Adams, who was tried as an adult, was sentenced to 15 years in prison plus 10 years of extended supervision with credit for time served.
