Police: Driver speeding, on cellphone before fatal Wheeling crash

A Chicago man who police say was speeding and using his cellphone when he rear-ended a disabled vehicle and killed its driver in Wheeling last fall faces charges of reckless homicide and aggravated use of electronic communication.

Julian Ramirez, 30, appeared in court on the charges Wednesday, when a judge ordered him held on home confinement with conditions while awaiting trial.

According to Wheeling police, Michael Szpisjak of Northbrook was stopped in his 2008 Smart car in the eastbound middle lane of Lake-Cook Road about 9:25 a.m. Nov. 6, when Ramirez’s 2022 Audi Q5 struck the vehicle.

Szpisjak, 49, was taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, where he died from his injuries, authorities said.

Wheeling police and officers from the Major Case Assistance Team’s Serious Traffic Accident Reconstruction unit determined Ramirez was traveling 59 mph in a 45 mph zone when his vehicle rear-ended Szpisjak’s car, officials said.

Additional data analysis showed Ramirez was using his cellphone at the time and that he neither braked nor reduced speed prior to the collision, police said.