Kent teen reportedly driving 103 mph in fatal hit-and-run

A 16-year-old Kent boy allegedly drove a stolen 2015 Hyundai Sonata 103 mph when he smashed into another vehicle and killed the driver July 13 on the East Hill.

Atreyu Renard Batts faces seven felony charges after he allegedly fled from police and then hit and killed Alizar A. Kachiyev, 41, of Auburn, the driver of the struck vehicle, according to charging papers filed July 30 by King County prosecutors.

Prosecutors charged Batts with second-degree murder, vehicular homicide, felony hit-and-run, two counts of vehicular assault, attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle and possession of a stolen vehicle. He will be charged as an adult, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors explained in court documents that the alleged murder charge stems from the death of someone while committing the crime of attempting to elude a police vehicle. The alleged vehicular homicide charge is for the death of Kachiyev.The hit-and-run is for reportedly fleeing on foot from the vehicle after the crash. The two counts of vehicular assault are for injuries to two passengers in the stolen vehicle, ages 15 and 14.

Batts is scheduled to be arraigned at 8:30 a.m. Monday, Aug. 12 in room E1201A of the King County Courthouse in Seattle. He is in custody at the Clark Children and Family Justice Center in Seattle with bail set at $500,000.

After Kent Police identified Batts as the driver, detectives discovered him in King County Juvenile Detention for reportedly stealing a vehicle just six days later with seven other juveniles in the car, according to charging documents.

Batts also was on electronic home monitoring (court ordered May 1) at the time of the Kent crash for another stolen vehicle case. A juvenile probation counselor was open to the electronic home monitoring, according to an Aug. 1 email from Casey McNerthney, spokesperson for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. McNerthney said juvenile probation counselors are separate from the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

In addition, Batts had two previous referrals for diversion services last year for harassment in June 2023 and taking a motor vehicle without permission in September 2023, according to charging papers. Harassment was a misdemeanor referral that is a mandatory diversion case under state law, McNerthney said.

“That he continues to engage in felonious behavior, despite receiving opportunities for less restrictive alternatives and community-based interventions, means that anything less than secure detention will not be successful in protecting the community from the serious public safety risk that he poses,” wrote Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Benjamin Santos in charging documents.

Batts violated conditions of release on multiple occasions by committing new, similar offenses, Santos wrote.

“His parents, in open court, previously expressed their concerns about their son’s escalating behavior and refusal to follow the court’s orders,” Santos wrote.

The case

Officers responded at about 11:55 p.m. July 12 after the owner of a stolen vehicle (a 2015 Hyundai Sonata) called 911 to report she had located the vehicle driving in the area of 23000 100th Avenue SE, according to charging papers. At about 12:05 a.m. July 13, officers located the vehicle in their fully marked Ford Explorers.

When officers activated their emergency lights and siren, the vehicle accelerated. Officers began to pursue the vehicle and estimated the speed to be about 80 mph (posted 35 mph) as it passed vehicles stopped on 104th Avenue SE at the intersection of SE 256th Street. Per the pursuing officers, the car actually bottomed out and created visible sparks as it continued southbound.

In the 26000 block of 104th Avenue SE, a driver attempted to make a left turn onto northbound 104th Avenue SE from a driveway on the west side, according to charging documents. The stolen vehicle collided with the left rear of that vehicle, tearing the back of the car off at about 12:08 a.m. That driver, Kachiyev, later died of his injuries.

The stolen vehicle came to rest about 340 feet from the point of impact and caught on fire. The driver and two passengers fled on foot and one remained at the scene, a 14-year-old girl who suffered a broken leg.

A download of the vehicle’s Airbag Control Module showed that it was traveling 99 mph at 99% throttle pedal 5 seconds prior to impact, and 103 mph at impact, according to charging papers. The vehicle’s ignition was completely torn apart, allowing the vehicle to be started without a key.

Eight days after the fatal crash, the parents of Batts called 911 to report that they believed their son had been involved in the incident, according to charging documents. The father said his son had called him shortly after midnight July 13 that he had been in a wreck and needed to be picked up.

The father told police he picked up his son and two other boys along 108th Avenue near SE 260th Street. That was near the crash site. Batts later said he was a passenger in the car that crashed. A boy who injured his shoulder in the crash and the 14-year-old girl in the vehicle later identified Batts as the driver, according to charging documents.