Teen driver, 17, faces parents of four girls killed in crash as judge blocks Epstein loophole bid
A teen driver accused of killing four of her friends while speeding to a slumber party told one of the girls’ parents at the scene, “My mom’s going to kill me,” a court has heard.Elsa Laremont Stranczek, 17, had been trying to get out of charges by going on a mental health diversion program — a California law that allows eligible defendants to avoid traditional prosecution.But Marin County Superior Court Judge James T.Chou denied the request Monday, leaving her to face prosecution for misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in juvenile court, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.Before learning her fate, the teen faced the grief left by the April 2025 car crash as relatives of the four girls killed confronted her in a packed courtroom.Christie Batanides, whose 15-year-old daughter Josalyn “Josy” Osborn died, recalled arriving at the crash scene and standing feet from the burning car, knowing her child was trapped inside.“I can not adequately describe the horror of standing there, knowing my child was inside,” Batanides said, adding Stranczek’s first words were: “My mom’s going to kill me… I wrecked the car.”“You had no concern for your friends,” Batanides told her.Stranczek, who suffered severe burns in the crash and reportedly does not remember the accident, stood and spoke to the courtroom for the first time.She acknowledged her role behind the wheel and said she had mourned her four friends every day since their deaths.“Regardless of the outcome, I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to honor my friends and their memory,” she said.The deadly journey began when the group piled into the teen’s car in downtown Fairfax and set off toward Woodacre for a Friday night sleepover.Just minutes before they arrived, the driver lost control on a curve on San Geronimo Valley Road and slammed into a redwood tree, causing the car to burst into flames.
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