Apple employee charged with murder after crashing into car at nearly 100 mph killing toddler

The crash victim has been identified as 2-year-old Riley Howard.

CUPERTINO, Calif. -- A 38-year-old Apple employee was charged Tuesday with murder in connection with a Cupertino, California, crash that killed a 2-year-old girl outside the tech giant's headquarters.

Eric Chen Su appeared before a judge and faces two felony counts: murder and assault with a deadly weapon.

A memorial has been set up at the crash site for 2-year-old Riley Howard, who died after the Friday crash.

Investigators said speed was a factor. The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office said Su was traveling nearly 100 mph when he rear-ended a vehicle stopped at a red light on Tantau Avenue.

"Unquestionably, murder was the appropriate charge," said Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Rob Baker. "The speedometer in his vehicle appeared to have been frozen at 100 at the time of the collision."

Prosecutors said that was four times the posted speed limit near the crash site.

Police found Riley and a woman, later identified as her babysitter, suffering from serious injuries inside the vehicle that court documents say was struck by Su's Toyota Camry. The vehicle caught fire after the collision.

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Witnesses told our sister station KGO-TV that several bystanders ran toward the burning car and pulled Riley and the driver to safety.

Riley and her babysitter were taken to a nearby hospital, where Riley later died.

Su appeared in court Tuesday in a wheelchair but was otherwise uninjured, according to Baker. No plea was entered. His next court hearing is scheduled for Nov. 30.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office said it will continue pursuing the case as prosecutors seek to hold Su accountable for Riley's death.