Driver charged with murder in crash that killed Hoover High School student

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Fresno County prosecutors have filed a murder case against the Fresno State employee who crashed into a Hoover High school teen and killed him in October.

The candles lining the sidewalk in front of Hoover High School and the memorial on the esplanade halfway across the street are tributes to Rashad Al-Hakim, Jr.

"Rashad was an awesome young man who had a bright future ahead of him," said family friend Jerome Kitchen.

Kitchen says the 15-year-old loved sports, especially basketball, and his family.

He kept his mother and siblings in stitches with his sense of humor. The holidays are a lot less joyful without him.

"I know it's been really hard for Mom to get in the spirit," Kitchen said. "But Mom has another son and she's trying to keep living for him."

Rashad died in October after a car hit him as he crossed First St. just outside of school.

His family members and friends spent weeks digging for details and demanding justice, even going to City Hall to get the driver's name.

On Thursday, the Fresno County District Attorney's Office filed a murder case against 39-year-old Lisa Spoors.

"Today we feel a little vindicated," said Kitchen. "People were so quick to write Rashad's life off - to make Rashad the criminal in this case because he jaywalked. People so easily dismissed the hurt of Rashad's parents."

Spoors is a graduate teaching assistant at Fresno State who uses they/them pronouns.

The university put them on investigatory leave in October and kept them out of the classroom. Their contract with the university ends Friday.

Police investigators say toxicology tests showed Spoors had both illegal and prescription drugs in their system at the time of the crash.

They have a DUI conviction from 2008, which opens the door to a murder charge in Rashad's death.

Rashad's mother told Action News she's pleased the charges finally came two months after his death, but she knows nothing can bring back her son.

And the family is frustrated by one more delay.

"(Spoors) gets to turn (themself) in on Dec. 27, which I think is just a little too long," Kitchen said. "I think that the best gift they could've given the family would have been to make sure she turned herself in before Christmas."

If they're convicted, Spoors faces a prison sentence of 15 years to life, possibly the same time in custody as Rashad spent alive.

Spoors "has fully cooperated with the police throughout their investigation," their attorney said in a statement sent to Action News late Thursday.

Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer also weighed in on the tragedy Thursday, saying he's calling for a school pedestrian safety meeting in January with school administrators and law enforcement, hoping to make sure incidents like this never happen again.

Fresno State released a statement, saying: Lisa Ellen Spoors has been employed as a graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Art and Design since Fall 2021. Lisa Spoors was placed on investigatory leave on Friday, Oct. 21 and assigned non-instructional duties for the remainder of the semester, in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement. The employment contract ends on Friday, December 23, 2022.