Teen driver charged in crash that killed friends

A 17-year-old Milwaukee boy has been charged in a crash Friday that killed two of his relatives and seriously injured a third as the group was returning from playing basketball.

Donte J. Barnes faces two counts of homicide by negligent driving and one count of reckless driving causing great bodily harm, all felonies.

According to the criminal complaint, other drivers and neighbors reported Barnes' 1999 Ford Taurus speeding south at up to 80 mph on N. 35th St. about 8:30 p.m., swerving from lane to lane, when it lost  control, left the street and crashed into a tree near W. Keefe Ave.

The impact severed the car in half.

Rear seat passengers Demetrius Batchelor Jr. and Latrey L. Hale, both 15, died. A 16-year-old old front seat passenger survived, but with numerous serious injuries.

Schools remember 2 Milwaukee teens killed in crash

Barnes, who had recently obtained his driver's license and owned the Taurus, also was hospitalized.

Several witnesses reported running to the crash scene to try to render aid and found at least one of the victims already deceased.

Hale was a student at Bradley Tech High School. Batchelor was a freshman at Messmer High School.

An online donation page to support funeral and medical costs has been shared widely on social media by the teens' relatives and can be found atwww.gofundme.com/2m53qyk.