Bail set for Schaumburg man charged with hit-and-run

A Schaumburg man who police say was responsible for a hit-and-run that seriously injured a teenage skateboarder last week kept driving only because he thought he had struck a construction barricade, his lawyer said Friday.

A Cook County judge Friday set bail at $25,000 for Adrian Perea, 29, charged with failure to report an accident involving an injury or death. Police say Perea struck the 17-year-old with his SUV about 10:15 p.m. Aug. 25, in the vicinity of Springinsguth Road and Syracuse Lane in Schaumburg.

The victim suffered serious injuries to his head, arm and leg, and remains hospitalized at St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates, authorities said.

Perea’s attorney, Joseph DiNatale, said his client expressed concern about the victim following his bond hearing Friday.

“All he cares about is how the kid is,” said DiNatale, adding that Perea did not realize he had struck the teen.

Later, after reading about the accident in the Daily Herald and learning that police were seeking a damaged vehicle, Perea told his boss about the accident, DiNatale said. Believing he may have been responsible, Perea asked his boss to call the police. He then turned himself in and turned his car over to investigators, said DiNatale.

A police spokesman could not verify if barricades had been in the area at that time.

DiNatale described Perea, a recent Texas transplant, as a “hardworking kid” who holds down two jobs.

“He feels terrible. He’s very upset,” said DiNatale, adding that Perea insisted on turning himself in and has fully cooperated with police, who confirmed as much.

Prosecutors say that Perea received supervision in 2001 for a misdemeanor DUI he received in Texas. He has no other criminal background.

He next appears in court on Sept. 29.