HAMPTON, Va. — A Newport News woman will serve no active prison time after pleading guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter and abuse of a child in connection to the death of her 8-year-old brother.
Enashia Futrell, now 20, was 18 when the incident happened on Oct. 2, 2023. Her little brother died while “car surfing” on top of a vehicle Futrell was driving, police have said.
The incident happened shortly before 5 p.m. in the 200 block of Golden Gate Drive that day.
According to court documents, Futrell was driving a Ford Expedition and said she did not know her brother had gotten out and onto the roof. An investigation indicated all of the windows of the vehicle were rolled down, and the vehicle was driving through the apartment complex at a higher speed than the posted 10 mph limit, police said.
Apartment complex security video reportedly showed two children, one in the rear driver-side seat and one in the front passenger seat, hanging out of the open windows with no restraints. The child in the back seat eventually climbed out and got onto the roof while the vehicle was still moving.
Police said the video showed the boy "car surfing" on top of the vehicle for approximately 1,000 feet before falling to the ground.
Court documents said Futrell admitted to speeding in the parking lot and was driving while distracted at the time.
Futrell pleaded guilty to the two charges on Monday in Hampton Circuit Court. She was sentenced to supervised probation for five years.
