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Kyle Harrison, 25, sentenced in connection to a fatal crash that killed a San Carlos couple in 2022, died Saturday in custody at the Maple Street Correctional Center, according to a statement by the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office.
The San Mateo County Coroner’s Office confirmed the identity of Harrison, but his cause of death is still under investigation.
In February, Harrison was sentenced to eight years in prison after being convicted of two counts of vehicular manslaughter and one count of felony street racing on a highway that resulted in injury.
Harrison was one of two men charged with the death of Grace Spiridon and Gregory Ammen on Nov. 4, 2022, after he and then 17-year-old Cesar Morales were street racing.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, Morales crashed into a family’s vehicle at over 80 mph. The two parents, who were 42 and 44, died on impact, but their two 7-year-old twin daughters survived. Harrison died at 4:50 p.m., according to the Sheriff’s Office.
At the time of his death, he had around three years and four months left of his sentence.
Harrison then fled from the scene at the intersection of El Camino Real and Finger Avenue, authorities said at the time.
Morales was released to his parents on a sentence of 90-day probation after he spent about two years in juvenile detention.
According to an individual with knowledge of the in-custody death, Harrison was set to be transferred to a prison this week and was housed in a cell with one other person.
The pod that Harrison was housed in had received a routine safety check before he was found unresponsive, according to the sheriff’s office. It’s unclear how Harrison died, but an autopsy is scheduled for Monday, March 17, according to the individual who will not be named out of concern for their position of employment.
Sheriff’s personnel immediately began administering lifesaving procedures but were unsuccessful.
Harrison’s death follows another inmate’s death at a Redwood City jail one year ago.
“We understand the concerns and questions that may arise from any in-custody death,” wrote public information officer Gretchen Spiker in a statement.
“While the independent investigations are ongoing, we want to assure the community that once the investigations are complete, the Sheriff’s Office will make the findings public,” she added.
