LINCOLN — The police have charged Andrew T. Bessette, a 17-year-old Lincoln High School senior, with felony driving to endanger, death resulting, in connection with a single-car accident that killed Marissa A. Lorea, a 15-year-old sophomore at Lincoln High and Bessette’s first cousin, on Oct. 15.

Bessette was arraigned before Judge William Clifton in District Court, Providence, on Oct. 31. Judge Clifton ordered Bessette to surrender his license and released him on $10,000 personal recognizance. Bessette was referred to the public defender’s office.

His next court date, a determination of attorney hearing, is scheduled for Nov. 14. A pre-arraignment conference in Superior Court in Providence is set for Jan.2, 2008, and arraignment is on Jan. 9, 2008.

Driving to endanger, death resulting, is defined under state law as “when the death of any person ensues as a proximate result of an injury received by the operation of any vehicle in reckless disregard of the safety of others.” The charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.

The police said Bessette, of 22 Angell Rd., was driving east on Wilbur Road, a narrow, hilly residential street that runs through the wooded area between Jenckes Hill Road and Old Louisquisett Pike, at about 2:30 p.m. in a Chevrolet Cavalier registered to his parents.

The police said Bessette was dropping off friends after school and was heading toward Lorea’s house at 37 Wilbur Rd.

But Bessette was driving at a high rate of speed, the police determined, and the car went off the left side of the road, clipping some tree branches before going over a stonewall and striking a large tree at the corner of Longmeadow Road. The impact demolished the car’s front end.

Bessette and another passenger, Amanda Coderre, a 16-year-old sophomore at Lincoln High, were injured in the crash. They were taken to Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence with injuries that were not life-threatening, according to the police.

Bessette was out of the hospital by Oct. 16, but Coderre, who was in the back seat, remained there until Oct. 20 and is currently recovering at home, according to the police and hospital officials. Lorea, who was seated in the passenger’s seat, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Deputy Police Chief Brian Sullivan said that the police decided to pursue the felony charge against Bessette after meeting with the attorney general’s office and determining that there was enough evidence to successfully prosecute the teenager.

Sullivan said that initial reports that Bessette might have been racing another car were unfounded.

“There was another car on Wilbur Road at the time of the accident, but there was no racing, no contact between Andrew’s car and another,” he said.

Lorea was one of three children of John and Sandra Lorea. She was a member of the girls junior varsity soccer team, and the indoor and outdoor track teams, as well as an honor student. She was a member of the Future Business Leaders of America and recently donated 11 inches of her hair to “Locks of Love,” according to her obituary.

At a vigil at the high school soccer field the day after the accident, Brianna Lorea, Marissa’s older sister and a senior at Lincoln High, described Marissa as “an exquisite girl” with “big, beautiful eyes.” She looked “cute, pure, fresh,” said Brianna.

Lorea’s funeral was Oct. 20 at St. Jude Church, in Lincoln. She was buried at St. Francis Cemetery, in Pawtucket.

pmarcelo@projo.com