Warren Twp. man charged in fatal Waukegan crash
The man at the wheel in a one-car crash that killed his passenger has been charged with reckless homicide, prosecutors said Saturday.
Adam Burkhardt, 22, of the 16000 block of Mulberry Lane in Warren Township near Gurnee, faces up to 14 years in prison if convicted of the charge, according to Lake County Assistant State's Attorney Stephen Scheller.
He said Burkhardt was at the wheel of a 2000 Chevrolet Silverado pickup registered to his father and was driving southbound on LeBaron Street in Waukegan about 2:30 a.m. on Friday.
As the truck approached the intersection with Washington Street, Scheller said, Burkhardt lost control of the vehicle, cut across a parking lot and down a hill, eventually striking a loaded semitrailer truck weighing nearly 40,000 pounds.
Scheller said the impact of the crash sheared off the roof of the pickup truck and moved the semitrailer two feet. Burkhardt's pickup was pinned beneath the semitrailer, Scheller said, and had to be towed out from underneath.
The first officer on the scene found Burkhardt lying on the ground near the crash scene, Scheller said, and Burkhardt reportedly told the officer he had been drinking and had been in an accident.
A witness later told police he had heard a crash and saw someone running away from the area where the semitrailer was parked, and had watched as the person stopped running and laid on the ground.
The lone passenger, Andrew Gallo, 22, of Northbrook, was pronounced dead at the scene, Scheller said, and Burkhardt was taken to Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge for treatment for facial lacerations and other unspecified injuries.
Scheller said Burkhardt told hospital personnel that he could not remember anything about the crash. Scheller said a blood test revealed a blood-alcohol level of .124 percent, above the legal definition of intoxication of .08 percent.
Police accident reconstruction specialists have been called in to review the circumstances of the crash, Scheller said.
A police hold has been placed on Burkhardt at the hospital, Scheller said, and he will appear in bond court as soon as doctors release him from their care.