Crystal Lake Man Pleads Guilty in Car Accident Deaths

October 29, 2010 - A young man who killed four people in a 2007 car accident pleaded guilty on Thursday to 4 counts of reckless homicide. According to a report at TribLocal.com, the 27-year-old man from Crystal Lake could be sentenced to up to 7 years in prison for his role in the deaths.

The charges stem from a single-vehicle accident on Sept. 8, 2007 in Kane County. Prosecutors alleged that the driver was speeding when he lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a tree on Dietrich Road. Police estimated that he was traveling nearly 70 miles per hour in a 40-mile-per-hour zone.

There were 4 passengers in the vehicle at the time of the crash, in addition to the driver, and all of them died. Two were pronounced dead at the scene, while another two victims died at local hospitals shortly after the crash. The ages of the victims ranged from 18 to 20 years old. The driver suffered serious personal injuries, but he was the only person to survive the horrific crash.

Prosecutors had previously alleged that the driver was under the influence of marijuana at the time of the accident, but they dropped that charge when it became difficult to prove that he was impaired. The driver is due to be sentenced in January.