Lewis case goes to jury

The fate of Ralph Lewis rests with a Cook County jury now that prosecutors and defenses attorneys have concluded their closing statements in Lewis' first-degree murder trial.

Lewis is charged with first-degree murder in the 2006 death of 16-year-old Corey Diamond who was killed when the U-Haul Lewis was driving ran a red light at Dundee and Schoenbeck roads in Wheeling. Driver Elliott Cellini suffered a traumatic brain injury in the crash. Both Cellini and the car's third passenger Brandon Forshall as well as Corey Diamond's parents Melanie and Ed were in the packed courtroom Friday for the closing statements.

Urging the jury to convict Lewis of first-degree murder, which carries a sentence of 20 to 60 years, assistant state's attorney Tom Byrne described the truck Lewis was driving as a "five-ton missile" and compared his actions to firing a gun into a crowd.

At the time of the crash, Lewis was fleeing police following a mini-crime spree that began earlier that day at Gurnee Mills.

Assistant public defender Helen Tsimouris, "(Lewis) is guilty of reckless homicide, but he's not guilty of murder. What happened that night is tragic and awful. He's guilty of being a thief and of running from police. He's thoughtless, careless and reckless, but he's not guilty of first-degree murder."

If the jury decides against the first-degree murder claim, they can convict Lewis of reckless homicide. They can also find him not guilty.

Lewis also faces charges of unlawful restraint, aggravated battery and aggravated possession of a stolen motor vehicle.