Inset: Derek Grey. Background: Grey's Ford Mustang when he split it in half while driving 153 mph in Tempe, Ariz. (KSAZ).
A 35-year-old driving a Ford Mustang at 153 mph in Arizona lost control of the car, launching it 9 feet in the air into palm trees and killing a woman who ended up 80 feet away from the car along with her boyfriend.
Derek Grey, also known as Derek Glasscock, pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter in the deaths of 32-year-old Jesse Ruiz and 31-year-old Maria Rangel, court records show.
The incident occurred around 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 25, 2023, when Grey was racing another car in Tempe.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by local Fox affiliate KSAZ, cops spotted the Mustang going more than 100 mph and tried to pull him over. But Grey kept driving.
"Shortly after the Ford Mustang fled from police, a cloud of smoke was seen rising into the air," the complaint reportedly said.
By the time cops caught up to the Mustang, it was split in half. Ruiz and Rangel were ejected from the car. Rangel was discovered 80 feet away. She later died at a hospital. Ruiz died at the scene.
Grey suffered several injuries, including a black eye.
An investigation revealed Grey was driving upward of 153 mph when he lost control, left the road and went airborne. He crashed into a power pole and two palm trees.
The defendant "repeatedly made spontaneous statements indicating he should not have been driving, and that he had been drinking alcohol," the complaint reportedly said. He told cops he was at a bar with friends before the crash.
Max Aguino, Rangel's brother, told local ABC affiliate KNXV that his sister and Ruiz had been dating for about a year.
"She was happy. She was a beautiful soul, and a beautiful person," Aguino said.
Grey is set to be sentenced on Sept. 23.
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