A South Dakota teenager awaiting sentencing in a fatal crash has decided to skip his high school graduation.
Seventeen-year-old Alex Lingor of Sioux Falls was granted a furlough from Minnehaha County Juvenile Detention Center so he could receive his diploma from Roosevelt High School next week.
Lingor decided to turned down the furlough on Thursday. His attorney says Lingor did not want to cause further grief to the victim's family or distract from the accomplishments of his graduating classmates.
Lingor pleaded guilty to manslaughter and other charges in the death of 15-year-old Kareem Cisse last year. Lingor was driving a truck and forced a sedan off the road in February 2017. Cisse, a passenger in the sedan, died.
Family and friends of the victim had criticized a judge's decision to temporarily release Lingor for the ceremony.