Teen faces homicide charge in ‘car-surfing’ accident

The teen driver behind the wheel in last week’s fatal car-surfing accident in Crystal Lake now faces a reckless homicide charge.

Stephen D. Gallagher, 19, was arrested on Tuesday night in Hoffman Estates and was released after he posted 10 percent of his $50,000 bond, Crystal Lake police said.

Besides the new reckless homicide charge, Gallagher, of the 1800 block of Hemlock Place in Schaumburg, also faces one count of misdemeanor reckless driving and one count of reckless conduct involving great bodily harm, police said.

Gallagher was driving his 2002 Chevrolet Impala around 11:30 p.m. on June 30 at a Walmart parking lot on the 1200 block of Route 31 in Crystal Lake, police said.

While the car moved, 20-year-old Austin Watts stood on the Impala’s roof, attempting to car surf, police said. Watts, of Hoffman Estates, tumbled to the ground and his head struck the parking lot pavement, police said.

Paramedics took Watts to Centegra Northern Illinois Medical Center in McHenry, where the 2010 Hoffman Estates High School graduate died on July 2.

His death brought the McHenry County state’s attorney’s office to upgrade charges against Gallagher, police said.