A 19-year-old from Illinois was charged Monday in a fatal crash near Lowell that killed his friend while driving back from a Hammond party.
Ryland M. Hart, of Peotone, is charged in Lake Superior Court in Crown Point with several felonies including causing death when operating a vehicle with a blood-alcohol content of .08 or more, a Level 4 felony.
He has not been apprehended and is ordered held on a $120,000, or $12,000 cash bond. Court records show he had alcohol and marijuana in his system at the time of the crash.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Department responded at 3:15 a.m. on Sept. 10 to the 1900 block of Belshaw Road near Lowell. Police found the Mercury Mariner SUV in a ditch. It had heavy front-end and right-side damage.
The front passenger, Alejandro Cardenas, 18, also of Peotone, was pronounced dead at the scene. He had to be extracted from the vehicle. The Lake County Coroner’s Office concluded he died from multiple injuries due to the crash.
Hart, his brother, 16, and two others in the backseat were hurt and taken to the hospital.
Hart admitted he drank heavily that night and multiple beverages were scattered at the crash site. He consented to a breath test and blew a .119, above the legal limit of .08. Another passenger said they went to Chicago earlier before heading to the Hammond party.
Hart was unfamiliar with the area, driving too fast and looking at the GPS when the crash happened, according to charging documents. At the hospital, Hart refused a chemical test and cops obtained a warrant.
Crash investigators could not pull airbag speed data but calculated Hart was driving between 53 and 58 miles per hour. The vehicle went off the street, hitting a tree and guardrail before landing in the ditch.
A family lawyer advised the Hart brothers to not talk to police, the affidavit notes.
mcolias@post-trib.com